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Planning commission hears consultant outline options to regulate data centers
Summary
A consultant told the Fayette County Area Planning Commission that data centers can bring high tax revenue but raise concerns about power, water, noise, and fire risk; she recommended clear definitions, size thresholds, setbacks and performance standards and urged a steering committee to draft local ordinance options.
Deborah Lazier, a planning consultant with CodeCrafters, presented a detailed overview of options Fayette County could use to regulate data centers and urged the commission to start with a clear definition and performance standards. She told commissioners that data centers can boost tax revenues while imposing infrastructure and environmental demands that require careful rules.
Lazier outlined a size-based approach, saying the industry's practical threshold is roughly 40,000 square feet where impacts on power, water and community character increase, while smaller facilities (about 4,000 square feet or less) may be more palatable in higher-intensity commercial areas. She recommended setbacks of about 1,000 feet from residential areas (500 feet in industrial zones) and a suite of performance requirements to manage noise, emissions and energy use. "For data centers, pros, obviously, extremely high tax revenues depending upon your tax structure," Lazier said, and she emphasized that ordinances should require utilities to document how requested power would be delivered.
On operational risks, Lazier recommended pre- and post-construction noise studies, limits on routine generator testing, and restricting the use of lithium batteries for long-duration storage because of fire concerns; she suggested permitting Tier 4 diesel backup generators if fuel generators are allowed and placing sound-emitting enclosures around them. She also advised communities to require water-use plans or closed-loop cooling where appropriate and to measure low-frequency vibration concerns that residents may feel.
The presentation included practical drafting strategies: create tight definitions (tiered by intensity), consider an overlay zoning district or special-exception/BZA review for controversial uses, and draft a dedicated ordinance section with checklists so applicants and reviewers know required materials and performance metrics. Lazier said she had worked with a Shelby County steering committee to draft an ordinance in roughly three to four months and shared sample handouts on Indiana sales-tax exemptions and local approaches.
The commission did not vote on any ordinance language; the planning director and commissioners described the meeting as an early-stage, information-gathering session and said future steering-committee work, public hearings and intergovernmental coordination would be needed before any regulation was adopted.
