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Council delays data-center ordinance after disputes over setbacks, noise rules and conditional-use process
Summary
After extended debate over setbacks, noise metrics and whether the use should be conditional, the council voted to table advertising of Ordinance 966 to allow further edits and stakeholder input.
Columbia Borough Council on Tuesday delayed action on a proposed ordinance to regulate data centers (Ordinance 966), citing unresolved technical questions about noise standards, appropriate setbacks, and whether the use should be treated as a conditional use that requires council review.
The ordinance would define data centers, regulate accessory electrical substations and set siting requirements intended to reduce community impacts. Council members disagreed over several specifics: one proposal sought to remove a complex "community noise equivalent" metric in favor of straightforward decibel limits; others pressed to explicitly include accessory uses and electrical substations in the definition to avoid loopholes. The draft included setbacks that committee members had discussed anywhere from 100 feet to 500 feet from property lines; several council members warned that a 500-foot setback would make the district effectively unusable, and a 200-foot setback was favored by several members as a compromise.
Councilors also debated whether data centers should be allowed by-right, permitted via special exception heard by the zoning hearing board, or treated as a conditional use that the borough council would decide. Advocates of conditional use argued council oversight is appropriate for a high-profile, potentially controversial land use and would allow negotiation of a community benefits agreement. Opponents warned conditional use could invite appeals and delay property transactions beyond the borough’s standard 60‑day closing window if appeals follow.
Environmental-justice concerns were raised in public comment earlier in the meeting: a resident noted Columbia’s high ranking on state environmental-justice maps and urged the council to assess cumulative impacts of added heat, noise and local emissions from data centers.
After technical and policy questions remained unresolved, councilors voted to table advertising the ordinance for further work and public review; staff were directed to refine definitions, revisit acceptable noise metrics and draft community-benefits language for future negotiation.
The council’s decision pauses formal advertisement and allows additional stakeholder consultation and legal review before the ordinance is advanced.
