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Staff outline data‑center rules for Glynn County, including 50‑acre minimum and screening requirements
Summary
Planning staff told the Glynn County Mainland Planning Commission on March 2 that the draft code treats data centers as permitted in industrial zones but adds design standards: 75-foot height limits, 50-foot setbacks, HVAC screening, and a proposed 50‑acre minimum site size that staff called the most limiting factor for siting.
Planning staff told the Glynn County Mainland Planning Commission on March 2 that the draft zoning code would treat data centers as permitted uses in certain industrial districts but add detailed design and siting standards, including a proposed minimum site size of 50 acres.
At the meeting a commissioner raised concerns about where data centers could be sited, the resource demands they impose (especially energy and water), and whether county rules should treat them as heavy industrial. The commissioner said public understanding of potential locations and zoning outcomes is important before projects advance.
Staff responded that the current regulations lack data-center-specific rules and that the draft places data centers as permitted uses in industrial and public zones (BGI, VI, LI), subject to development plan review. A staff presenter described the proposed standards in detail: principal buildings not to exceed 75 feet in height (measured from pad level), front/side/rear yard setbacks of 50 feet, minimum lot frontage and lot width of roughly 110 feet, and a minimum acreage requirement of 50 acres. Staff also said HVAC and air-conditioning equipment must be thoroughly screened from public rights-of-way and adjacent properties, buffers must be applied consistent with the zoning district, and security fencing must follow general fencing regulations.
Commissioners and staff agreed that while the use is permitted in some industrial zones, the 50-acre minimum is likely to be the biggest practical constraint on siting new data centers in Glynn County.
Context and next steps: staff said data centers would still require development plan approval and review by the Planning Commission; no formal code adoption occurred at the March 2 session. Commissioners directed staff to continue refining standards and noted public education and clear mapping of potential sites would be important for community review.
