Columbia Planning & Zoning data center regulation debate continues
Olivia Hayes
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission will continue to hammer out regulations for possible data centers on Thursday night.
At Thursday’s work session, commission members will discuss “broader” topic areas that they want to include in a working draft of the regulations and standards that would govern data centers in Columbia.
The work session begins at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The building and inclusion of data centers have been highly contested around the country, including in Mid-Missouri.
Amazon has sought to build a data center in Montgomery County, but faced intense pushback from residents at several public meetings, culminating in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the project. Critics of data centers often cite excessive water usage and increased electricity consumption.
During the April 6 Columbia City Council meeting, the definition of “data center” and its placement within the city’s zoning structure was approved. During this same meeting, a request to have an ordinance prepared establishing a six-month “administrative delay” on permits for data centers was also passed.
That administrative delay request was stretched to six months before this week’s City Council meeting. The city believes the lengthened delay period will permit staff and the community to examine standards relating to this topic.
A public comment will follow before city staff craft regulations.
City staff have found that “utilization of water utility” and “utilization of electric utility” are the most important issues to community members in the data center discussion. Those two topics would also require the most collaboration across City departments.
Other topics to be discussed include siting of structures, parking requirements, decommissioning and remediation and lighting and noise requirements.
Public comment will follow once the final draft. Staff estimates the public comment will be between 45 and 60 days.