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Planning staff proposes moving data centers to conditional use permits, adds 1,000-foot buffer and noise/testing standards
Summary
City planning staff told the EDA that Planning Commission recommends removing data centers as unfettered by-right uses in some commercial/industrial districts and instead requiring a conditional use permit, a 1,000-foot buffer from resource-conservation and residential zones, limits on height and noise, and application requirements including anticipated water use and cooling type; staff will brief City Council June 23 and target a July 14 hearing.
Rachel, the city planner, briefed the Economic Development Authority on proposed zoning updates for data centers and said the Planning Commission wants greater local review before these facilities could be built.
Rachel said Lynchburg currently has no formal data-center proposals and that the existing land-use definition historically covered data-processing uses as by-right in business and industrial districts. "When that definition was created, it probably looked a lot different," she said, noting that a by-right classification allows administrative approvals with little public oversight.
Planning Commission recommended several changes in the draft ordinance: changing data centers from by-right uses in certain districts to a conditional use permit in specified industrial and IN2 districts; adopting a 1,000-foot buffer from resource-conservation and residential districts; setting screening and setback requirements; requiring applicants to disclose anticipated water usage and cooling technology; limiting generator testing to weekdays; applying noise standards to both generators and regular operations; and a 45-foot maximum building height.
Rachel framed the proposed approach as preserving the ability of City Council and Planning Commission to evaluate proposals case by case. "The conditional use permit versus the by-right is really the key there," she said, adding that the CUP process would give the city a chance to ask applicants about mitigation measures or community benefits.
During questions from EDA members, staff clarified that the draft ordinance does not mandate heat-reuse systems or other specific environmental reclamation but that those topics could be raised and negotiated with an applicant under a CUP. On mapping, staff noted that resource-conservation strips along creeks informed where 1,000-foot buffers would preclude development.
Staff said the draft ordinance will be presented to City Council as a briefing on June 23 and that a public hearing is targeted for July 14.
The EDA did not take a vote on the zoning language; the update will move through the Planning Commission and City Council process before any new regulatory requirements take effect.
