Smithville is expected to strengthen zoning restrictions on data centers during a special called meeting Wednesday to further expand protections.
UCDD Deputy Director Tommy Lee said the city wants to establish specific regulations because these facilities are currently not mentioned in the local zoning ordinances. While this would mean they are prohibited by default. Lee said the research period will allow the city to establish conditions to protect citizens regarding where these operations can locate.
“We want to study, you know, again the positive impacts that they can have for a community, the negative impacts that they can have,” Lee said. “We’ve heard issues with other data centers regarding electric consumption, water consumption and noise levels that could be a detriment to a community.”
Lee said the city selected an 18-month moratorium to ensure enough time to conduct proper research without rushing the process. Lee said while no formal applications have been submitted, the proximity of data centers in nearby areas prompted the city to prepare for future petitions.
“To me, those are the things that are most important that we take a look at to make sure that if someone does locate in the city, then it’s not going to be a burden on the citizens with regards to rates and consumability of electric and power,” Lee said. “And then again, noise making sure that at 3 a.m. in the morning that they don’t hear noises coming from these facilities.”
Lee said the study will investigate whether these facilities provide significant economic benefits beyond potential increases in property tax revenue. Lee said his initial research suggests that these types of operations typically do not result in high levels of job creation for a local area.
“We want to make sure that there’s no gray areas when it comes to these things,” Lee said. “We want to make sure that we are very solid when it comes to the legal aspect of it and, you know, if someone comes in, we can just say you’re allowed here and you’re allowed here under these certain conditions. Or in the opposite of that, you’re not allowed in these areas so that there’s no room for interpretation.”
Lee said the goal of the moratorium is to eliminate room for interpretation in the zoning code to provide clear guidance for both the city and potential developers. Lee said the city wants to be proactive so that officials are ready with accurate information before a company requests a location in Smithville.
Lee said he does not expect the moratorium to last longer than 18 months.
“We want to make sure that that information is accurate and then once we have the information, start steps to make sure that in the future, if any data centers locate in Smithville, then they’re located in the proper areas,” Lee said.
