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Council reviews proposed data-center zoning rules, tables ordinance for more study
Summary
A proposed amendment to Grandville’s zoning code would define and regulate data centers of varying sizes, require environmental and utility impact documentation, set setbacks and noise-testing rules and add decommissioning standards; the council introduced then tabled the ordinance for additional review and mapping.
Grandville city officials on Monday reviewed a proposed zoning amendment that would classify data centers by size and set rules for where and how they may operate, but delayed adoption after asking for more localized analysis.
Planning consultant Remy Clark of McKenna Light Technology summarized the ordinance, saying it would treat hyperscale data centers as a special land use permitted only in the I2 industrial district, allow small and medium centers as permitted uses in industrial districts, and permit accessory-scale server installations more broadly. The draft requires applicants to submit documentation of environmental and utility impacts — including stormwater, electrical capacity, water and sewage — and establishes minimum setbacks: 500 feet from residential zoning and 200 feet from mixed-use or form-based districts.
On noise, the draft ordinance creates two testing regimes and includes a highway noise exemption to encourage siting closer to highways; the exemption applies to primary data center structures within 400 feet of a highway, which the consultant said would reduce the need for an octave-band noise study in those locations.
"We wrote the section with the idea of future adaptive reuse in mind," Clark said, noting the ordinance includes decommissioning and adaptive-reuse requirements so former data-center buildings can be converted to warehouse or other industrial uses.
Council members pressed staff on the size bands used to distinguish small, medium, and hyperscale centers and whether the city should outright prohibit hyperscale facilities. Clark said the numeric ranges in the draft (for example, 5 megawatts and up for certain bands) were taken from a model ordinance developed with the law firm Foster Swift and can be adjusted; he added that straight prohibition risks legal exposure as exclusionary zoning.
Councilmembers also asked whether any local parcels could support a hyperscale build. Clark said preliminary parcel review found no obvious sites in Grandville that are immediately suitable for hyperscale facilities and reiterated that the amendment is intended to ensure the city has standards in place should an inquiry or application arise.
After discussion, the council voted to introduce the ordinance (the motion referenced ordinance numbering in the packet) and then, on a subsequent motion, voted to table the item to allow distribution of zoning maps and further planning-commission input.
What happens next: staff said they will circulate a zoning map and, if the council requests, refer an overlay-district concept to the planning commission for review before returning the ordinance for a second reading.
Notes on the record: the draft ordinance was repeatedly described in the packet and during discussion with two different ordinance numbers (25-003 and 26-003); the record shows the council introduced the measure and then tabled it pending additional mapping and review.
