By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
The Joint City-County Planning Commission is working on new language for its zoning ordinances.
Planning Director Kevin Myatt showcased the language at a public meeting on July 10 that defines what a data center is and where it can located in the cities in Barren County. Data centers are “physical facilit[es] that organizations use to house their critical applications and data.” Myatt said such centers are increasingly locating in smaller towns that have cheaper rent and, possibly, more empty buildings.
Myatt and Planning Administrator Thom Kendall said, as the language is written now, data centers would be a conditional use in heavy industrial zones, which means they would be allowed in those areas but would have to go before the Board of Adjustments and get approval prior to moving in.
“That’s the way we’ve proposed it,” Myatt said at the public meeting. “So it is allowed but it has to go before the board because, right now, [data processing centers] don’t have to make [changes] to the buildings…. They’ll leave it as is…, [data processing centers are] not necessarily terrible things but the Board of Adjustment can at least have that discussion and say ‘okay if you’re going to do that then you’re going to bring the building up to standards.’”
In addition to leaving building “as is,” Myatt said most data centers only have one employee — so the city would get very minimal occupational taxes — and will require plenty of electricity and broadband.
The public hearing during which the Joint City-County Planning Commission members will officially weigh-in on the proposed language is scheduled for July 21 at 7 p.m.
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