Where does Council's review of data centers stand? Here's the latest

Council is continuing its review of local zoning rules regulating data centers, and this week, one of its committees will receive an informational presentation from the city's Planning staff on the topic.

A presentation included in the meeting packet for the September 8th General Government and Planning Committee will review various examples of data centers throughout the country, their energy demands, and potential data center land use impacts.

Councilmembers will also get a recap of how the regulatory process has played out so far. It began in June when Council unanimously approved a temporary pause on the development of data centers in Fayette County. At that meeting, Council also directed the Planning Commission to develop zoning ordinance text amendments (ZOTA) – or changes to Lexington's zoning laws – that regulate data centers.

After a public hearing in July that stretched for nearly 6 hours, the Planning Commission recommended its own revisions and those changes have since come back to Council for review.

However, Council is holding off on making a final decision until it hears from residents in-person at an upcoming public hearing.

That meeting is scheduled for October 6th at 5:30 p.m. in the Government Center, located at 200 East Main Street.

"We decided to call a special meeting to hear directly from our neighbors and to continue giving this issue the attention and transparency it deserves," 5th District Councilmember Liz Sheehan, who sponsored the regulatory review, said in a Council news release last month.

"We have been working diligently to craft rules for data centers that fit Lexington’s needs, and we want the public to offer us in-person feedback on these regulations at a more accessible time of day than our typical afternoon meetings," Sheehan said.

Tuesday's committee presentation will serve as an opportunity for Councilmembers to learn more about data centers and ask questions.

What changes is the Planning Commission recommending?

Tuesday's committee presentation offers a recap of the regulatory process so far.

A first draft of the zoning ordinance updates proposed a complete ban on major data centers – defined as being greater than 50,000 square feet – in any of Lexington's zones.

It limited minor data centers to 50,000 square feet and permitted them only as a conditional use within Lexington's B-4 Wholesale/Warehouse and I-1 Light Industrial zones. They would be subject to energy, water, and noise mitigation requirements, set backs from sensitive uses and zones – such as schools and daycares – and additional conditions as required by the Board of Adjustment, which approves conditional use permits.

The Planning Commission has since recommended its own edits to the proposed changes. A few examples include:

• Further restricting the size of a minor data center from 50,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet.
• Adding a 25 megawatt energy capacity cap. For comparison, Project Rainier – a 1,200 acre data center campus built by Amazon in Indiana – has an energy demand of 2.2 gigawatts, which is enough to power roughly 1.43 million homes.
• Additional required studies and plans, such as a stormwater management plan, energy efficiency plan, water quality and utilization plan, and a decommissioning plan.
• Modified spacing requirements. These include increased set-backs from 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet, and additional sensitive uses within the spacing requirement.
• Reducing the allowable noise level at the property line of an adjoining residential zone or use to 30 decibels, 24 hours a day. For context, 30 decibels is about as loud as a soft whisper.