By and large, community members who spoke at a public meeting on Tuesday regarding Murray’s proposed data center zoning regulations said the western Kentucky city needs to do more to dissuade companies from building those facilities in the area.
Following public comment, the Murray Planning Commission voted to consider suggestions from attendees for inclusion in a revised data center zoning proposal to be recommended to the city council in a draft ordinance later this month. This public hearing came after the planning commission reviewed the document at a meeting last week.
Overall, more than 20 speakers gave feedback on the proposed regulations – which seek to lay out where any future data centers in Murray’s city limits could be built and what processes the businesses behind those projects would need to follow before they could receive city approval.
Most of those speakers felt the proposed regulations don’t go far enough. Murray resident Sue Hood asked the city to take steps to keep the controversial, energy-guzzling facilities from setting up shop in the region.
“We feel frustrated. We feel angry that this [proposal] is here, and that we've got a week’s notice to read over 25 pages and somehow become experts in data centers. We're not. We're fearful of them, and we don't want them in Murray,” Hood said.
Hood wasn’t the only person hoping to keep the facilities out of Murray. When the planning commission’s attorney David Perlow said it “sounds like a lot of people in here are against data centers,” dozens of attendees responded with a chorus of “yes” followed by applause.
However, Murray’s planning commission – consisting of members appointed by the mayor – does not have the authority to issue a ban or moratorium on building projects like data centers. That kind of action could only potentially be taken by the elected city council – though whether that body even has that authority is up in the air. Cave City, which issued a 12-month moratorium on data center projects last month, is now facing a lawsuit over that action.
Murray Mayor Bob Rogers, who attended the public hearing, said afterward that legally pausing or banning data center projects is not something the city council will likely consider.
“What they tell me about a moratorium is it’d probably be thrown out and then people could just come in and do what they want to, so we don't think that's the route to go,” Rogers said.
Without moratorium, what else can Murray consider?
While there are no data centers in city limits, Murray also currently has no zoning regulations specifically regulating those kinds of projects. If a business came to the city now looking to build a data center, Perlow advised the commission that there aren’t many “guardrails” in Murray’s current codes and ordinances.
“There's nothing in place except our minimal zoning regulations,” Perlow said. “It's wide open.”
Planning commission member Bobby Deitz said the draft version of the zoning proposals would likely limit the potential for data centers to be built within the bounds of Murray.
“Quite frankly, it would be tough to build a data center in the city limits. [To find a] piece of property that would suit all these things would be very difficult,” Deitz told the crowd.
However, several speakers had suggestions on how to make the language more restrictive.
Raegan Settle called on the commission to change the tone of the proposed zoning rules.
“The ordinance facilitates data centers rather than [restricting] them. The intent of the ordinance reads to facilitate appropriate location, development, construction, and installation of data centers. This is a welcoming ordinance, not a protective one. Every standard it sets is a floor a developer can meet, not a barrier that they cannot clear,” Settle said.
The zoning proposal, in part, would require data centers to source water for their cooling systems from public or semi-public utility providers. Potential projects are also encouraged to use alternative energy sources like solar, wind or hydroelectric as much as possible.
Murray resident Keith York said these projects – some of which use massive amounts of power and water to fuel their operations – shouldn’t be allowed to connect to community systems.
“If we…do not have the authority to ban one or to put a moratorium in, we can at least say that [data centers] have to provide their own power, their own water, rather than public utilities – which would affect our prices that we pay,” York said.
Other items currently addressed in the draft version of the zoning regulations include limiting data centers to industrial zones; requiring facilities to be at least 1,500 feet away from places like homes and schools; and setting maximum allowable noise levels the centers’ operations can generate.
What’s next?
The Murray Planning Commission will review public comments from Tuesday’s meeting with the city’s planning department to see what revisions can be made to the draft data center zoning proposal.
The commission plans to have a special called meeting on June 23 to discuss the revised draft. However, this meeting would not include time for the public to give feedback on the revisions. Another public hearing could potentially be scheduled after that.
While considering the data center zoning proposal was an item listed on the public agenda for the next Murray City Council meeting on Thursday, Rogers said that item would be removed since the planning commission has not passed its recommendation on it.
The planning commission still needs to vote on whether to recommend the proposed ordinance on data center zoning before the city council can take action. Once it’s before the city council, the elected body will need to have two readings of the zoning ordinance before it can be officially adopted. When the city council receives the planning commission’s recommendation, the group of elected council members can also propose changes to the zoning rules and seek public input if the body chooses to do so.
Perlow cautioned the planning commission that taking time on reviewing and revising the draft zoning ordinance means the city continues to go without guardrails against data centers.
“As long as you hold the ball, it can't move forward procedurally,” Perlow said. “The longer you hold the ball, [the longer] there is no regulation of data centers.”
