The Mexico Planning and Zoning Commission approved proposed ordinance language regulating data centers Tuesday.
The proposed ordinance would establish requirements for data center …
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The Mexico Planning and Zoning Commission approved proposed ordinance language regulating data centers Tuesday.
The proposed ordinance would establish requirements for data center development within city limits, including restrictions on where facilities could be located, noise testing and documentation of electrical and water demands.
Under the proposed language, a data center is defined as a building or facility used primarily to store, process, manage, compute or transmit digital data using computer servers, networking equipment, high-performance computing equipment, artificial-intelligence, cloud-computing, cryptocurrency processing or similar technologies. The term also includes other associated equipment primarily serving the data center such as cooling and electrical equipment, generators, batteries, transformers and substations.
During his presentation to the commission, Drew Williford, deputy city manager, identified three main areas of public concern that were taken into account: location, noise and utility usage.
Addressing concerns
The proposed ordinance would allow data centers as an additional use only within the I-1 Light Industrial District and I-2 Heavy Industrial District.
“We chose that approach because additional use has five key questions,” Williford said. “It takes a little bit of the subjectivity out and makes it more objective.”
Under city code, the Mexico City Council will be asked to determine if proposed facilities will:
If it is decided that the answer to any of these questions is yes, it is an automatic denial.
Approval of an Additional Use permit does not authorize construction.
Prior to the consideration of an Additional Use permit, applicants must provide a letter from each serving utility, such as water and electric, that states it can provide service to the proposed data center without adversely impacting current customers. The letter must also include any necessary improvements required to facilitate the data center and a timeframe for construction.
Williford said noise is a primary concern regarding data centers, so the city has created strict limits that not only address noise level, but also tone in a three-pronged approach.
According to the proposed ordinance, the sound level generated by a data center cannot exceed five decibels above the documented pre-construction baseline in any single individual third-octave band between 20-200 hertz. The ordinance also restricts band maximums in order to address tone – single third-octave band levels cannot exceed the average of its two adjacent bands by more than five decibels. Additionally, any data center facility will not be compliant if an individual, low-frequency band spikes significantly, even if the overall broadband remains consistent.
“How its implemented and how we state it seems to be something we need to do a little more research on and I’m hoping our acoustics professional will be able to provide that input,” Williford said.
The sound restrictions also apply to generators, which under the proposed ordinance, must be fully enclosed or designed to minimize noise impacts.
Preconstruction and maintenance noise testing will be done at the owner’s expense.
Under the proposed ordinance, data center applicants must provide:
Moving forward
Before approving the proposed ordinance language, the commission amended the decommissioning bond requirements to shift the focus from demolition to nuisance abatement.
“This approach would proactively address both building and grounds maintenance, keeping the facility in good condition, even though it has been abandoned,” Williford said.
He added that the amendment creates a “less restrictive approach” that could make it easier for the city to help sell the buildings and prevent them from deteriorating.
On Aug. 24, the Mexico City Council approved a 90-day moratorium on considering data center projects with the goal of establishing a public process for evaluating data center projects based on reasonable, measurable and enforceable standards.
Williford said the Planning and Zoning Commission needed to approve the proposed ordinance language so it could be presented to the city council before the 90-day moratorium expires in late November.
The amended ordinance is scheduled to be presented to the city council as a staff report first during the Oct. 26 meeting. No formal action on the ordinance is scheduled that night.
“We’re trying to do our very best to make sure everyone’s aware of this and invite public comment,” Williford said.
The proposed ordinance is expected to return to the City Council for approval in November.
Commissioners Dave Wilburn, Jim Dye, Mike Beardslee and Craig Kimbel voted to approve the amended version of the proposed ordinance. Commissioner Betty Jo Sydenstricker was absent.
