Commission to consider zoning rules for data centers, crypto mining after Planning Commission approval

Commissioner Rogers presented a resolution to amend the Bradley County zoning resolution to add definitions and regulations for cryptocurrency mining and data centers and to permit those uses in the I1 general industrial district. The Planning Commission passed the proposed ordinance unanimously, and Rogers asked that it be placed on next week's voting session.

The text discussed minimum lot size (the draft sets a five-acre minimum for permitted industrial data centers), screening requirements, a sound limit of 60 decibels at property lines, verification requirements to the Planning and Inspection Office, and a written requirement that applicants provide electrical-provider verification that infrastructure can safely serve the proposed load. Planning and several commissioners debated whether a five-acre threshold is adequate for large-scale data centers and noted containerized cryptocurrency mining's portability creates enforcement challenges.

Doug Berry of the Industrial Development Board and other speakers explained that large data centers often require TVA-level direct service and that some developers are already scouting land in the county. Public commenters, including a representative from the Walker Valley/Charleston area, urged care in siting to avoid placing such facilities adjacent to schools. Commissioners directed staff to include the item on the next voting session packet.