The public hearing drew a large crowd to the City Government Center, with people filling multiple rooms to voice concerns about the city's proposed zoning changes.
The discussion comes after the Urban County Council approved a temporary moratorium on new data center development last month. The pause followed Dallas-based DartPoints' $29 million purchase of the former Lexmark Data Center and was meant to give city leaders time to study the impacts of data centers and update local zoning regulations.
Several commissioners said the 60-day deadline to review the ordinance left little time to tackle such a complicated issue.
"We are being rushed to make a recommendation within a 60-day period and we've got to do something today, so this is going to be difficult, but entertaining," Commissioner Frank Nickel said.
The original proposal would have banned large data centers—those larger than 50,000 square feet with one or more electrical substations—from Fayette County. Smaller facilities would still be allowed, but only in warehouse/wholesale business and light industrial zones and only after receiving a conditional use permit.
Developers would also have to submit plans addressing noise, water conservation, energy use and impacts on the local power grid.
After discussion, commissioners voted to recommend even tighter restrictions.
They lowered the maximum size of a data center from 50,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet and added a 25-megawatt cap on electricity use. They also recommended limiting noise to 30 decibels over a 24-hour period and increasing the required buffer between data centers and nearby homes, schools, daycares and health care facilities from 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet.
The commission also pushed for stronger protections for water quality and stormwater management and recommended requiring closed-loop cooling systems, or other non-evaporative cooling technologies, to reduce water use.
Many residents who spoke during the hearing said they wanted the city to slow down rather than move forward with new regulations.
"With the evidence that's available to us now, we don't have to be at the forefront of destruction," Julia Gordain said. "We can take our time... there's not enough information for us to move like this."
An attorney representing DartPoints said the company is not planning the type of massive hyperscale data center that many residents are worried about and would only be renovating the existing Lexmark facility.
The Planning Commission's vote is only a recommendation. The Urban County Council will have the final say on whether the zoning changes move forward.
