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The Data Center Divide

City of Conway

Mixed Data Center Policies

Conway allows data centers in designated zones, often with permits and noise studies, and requires noise controls before operation or expansion. A rezoning may ease siting on one area, but does not approve a project or remove later oversight.

current law · City of Conway
Requires Conway data centers to notify nearby residents, conduct noise studies, install noise-reduction measures, and keep sound below set limits to operate.Conway Ordinance O-23-55 (2023)

What this means

The ordinance adds meaningful costs and potential delays: operators must notify nearby residents, commission noise studies, and design sound controls. Data centers cannot begin operating unless they meet the noise limits, and expansions must also comply, but the rules do not prohibit development outright (noise studies and attenuation requirements).

People behind it

  • Aldermen voted to pass the noise ordinance.

  • Worked with the municipal league to create the ordinance.

  • Worked with the City of Conway to create the ordinance.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements10

  • Before construction or operation, the owner and operator must notify residents and homeowners’ associations within a half-mile, notify the Mayor with the proposed location, and file proof of resident notification with the City Clerk within 30 days. Notice requirements

  • Before construction, the property owner must obtain a third-party acoustic engineer’s baseline sound study, measuring eight locations at the property line and recommending mitigation. The report must be provided to the Mayor and filed with the City Clerk within 30 days of completion. Noise study requirements

  • The owner must consult a third-party architectural or design firm on a noise-attenuation building plan, submit it to the Mayor, and file it with the City Clerk within 30 days of completion and before construction. Mechanical equipment must be fully screened. Noise attenuation plan requirements

  • Changes, additions, and expansions must meet the ordinance’s noise-attenuation requirements, with the design submitted to the Mayor and filed with the City Clerk within 30 days of completion of the report. Additions, changes, or expansions

  • After construction, the operator must obtain a third-party acoustic engineer’s study with mechanical equipment running at full capacity, including HVAC and generators needed for peak operation. It must use the original eight measurement locations and be submitted to the Mayor and City Clerk within 30 days of completion. Post-completion noise study

  • A data center cannot begin operating until the post-construction study is completed and submitted, and it shows compliance. If the study finds noncompliance, operations cannot begin until required attenuation measures are implemented and noise limits are met. Shall not begin operations

  • Operators must conduct annual noise studies under the baseline and post-construction study specifications and file results with the Mayor and City Clerk within 30 days after the anniversary date of the first study report. Annual noise studies

  • Noise at the receiving property line is deemed a disturbance at 65 dBA or higher from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., or 55 dBA or higher from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Noise limitations

  • Noise measurements must follow prescribed procedures, including limits on outdoor measurement conditions, immediate pre-measurement meter calibration, minimum meter placement height, multiple readings with the average used to determine violations, and postponement when unrelated sounds raise the measured level. Procedure for measurement

  • Violations are misdemeanors and may bring a $1,000 fine per offense, double for a repeat offense, and $500 per day for a continuing violation. A violating data center must cease operations until compliant; injunctions and other legal remedies may also be pursued. Penalties and cessation of operations

Sources

current law · City of Conway
Does not change data-center rules; Ordinance O-25-99 amends Conway’s accessory dwelling unit regulations.Conway Zoning Code (Ordinance O-25-99) (2026)

What this means

Ordinance O-25-99 changes accessory-dwelling-unit rules, not data center rules. The code’s data center provisions appear separately in Section 514, so this measure has no meaningful effect on building, expanding, or operating data centers.

People behind it

  • Proposed, adopted, and passed Ordinance No. O-25-99 amending the Conway Zoning Code to regulate accessory dwelling units.

  • Authorized to administer the code amendment by recodifying the Zoning Code as necessary to incorporate the changes.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements9

  • Commercial data centers are restricted to nonresidential zoning districts. In residential districts, data centers and digital-asset-mining facilities are limited to personal, noncommercial use and may not require third-party customers or employees to visit, alter a building exterior, or add parking; they also are not treated as home occupations.

  • The permitted-use table distinguishes between Data Center (Limited) and Data Center (General) and allows them only in specified zoning districts. Where the table marks a data-center use with “C,” a conditional-use permit is required; where no designation appears, the use is not allowed.

  • A conditional-use-permit application for a data center may require additional information about utility usage. The applicant must also submit building plans, a noise study, and a noise-attenuation plan as defined in Ordinance O-23-55.

  • Conditional-use applications require public notice, including publication of a legal notice at least 15 days before the hearing, posted signs on the property, and mailed notice to property owners within 200 feet and specified school officials.

  • A conditional data-center use must be reviewed by the Planning Commission and then approved by the City Council; the conditional-use permit is not effective without City Council approval.

  • Any expansion of a conditional data-center use—including additions, a substantial increase in intensity, new buildings, additional parking, or expansion into new areas—requires a new conditional-use permit.

  • Conditional-use-permit applications carry a nonrefundable fee of at least $325. A denied conditional-use application may not be refiled for one year unless the City Council authorizes it.

  • Construction of a data-center main building and associated site improvements is subject to Development Review, and a building permit may not be issued for a site subject to Development Review until that review is approved.

  • Development Review applications require specified materials such as a dimensioned site plan, grading and drainage plans, landscaping plans, architectural elevations, and utility request forms. Review fees range from $325 for small-scale development to $3,500 for large-scale development over five acres.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions5

  • The permitted-use table expressly recognizes “Data center (limited)” and “Data center (general)” as zoning uses. A limited data center is conditionally permitted in I-1 and permitted by right in I-3; a general data center is conditionally permitted in the listed districts and permitted by right in I-3. Data center (limited) and Data center (general)

  • The code’s data-center definition expressly includes networked computer systems and supporting equipment such as batteries, backup generators, HVAC, and cooling systems, allowing those components to be treated as part of the data-center use. supporting equipment such as batteries, back-up generators, HVAC and cooling systems

  • For a conditional-use application, the city may request additional information about utility usage and requires building plans, a noise study, and a noise-attenuation plan, but approval conditions may not impose sound limits stricter than those identified in Ordinance O-23-55 or impose special conditions based on differing data-center types. No condition shall further limit sound decibels

  • Commercial data-center use is restricted to nonresidentially zoned areas, providing a defined zoning location for commercial facilities. Commercial use of data centers shall be restricted to non-residential zoned areas

  • Personal, noncommercial data centers are allowed in specified residential districts without being classified as a home occupation, provided they do not require third-party customers or employees to visit and do not require exterior or parking alterations. Data Centers and digital asset mining facilities within a residential use area

Sources

current law · City of Conway
Rezones land near Lollie Road for intensive industrial use, potentially allowing a data center there subject to further approvals.Conway Ordinance O-25-39 (2025)

What this means

The measure annexes land and changes roughly 160 acres from agricultural to intensive-industrial zoning, which could make it easier to site a data center there (the property is rezoned to I-3). It does not specifically approve data centers or remove later development oversight, so the benefit is meaningful but limited.

People behind it

  • Presented and introduced the agenda measures before the City Council.

  • Co-owner and negotiating party for the White Bluff and Independence agreements; its board recommended approval.

  • Requested approval of the amendment adding electric-vehicle charging-space regulations to the municipal parking code.

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  • Applicant for the private-club permit location at 1023 Front Street.

  • Petitioners for annexation of approximately 296.21 acres east of Lollie Road.

  • Petitioner for annexation of approximately 39.50 acres east of Lollie Road.

  • Requested the rezoning of two parcels at Lollie Road and Donnell Ridge Road from A-1 to I-3.

  • Determined that repeal of the natural-landscape ordinance was necessary and was authorized to execute the Best Friends Animal Society grant agreement and related energy documents.

  • Grantor and agreement party providing $20,000 for Conway’s community-cat and kitten-intake-diversion program.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions4

  • Rezoning approximately 160.57 acres at the northeast corner of Lollie Road and Donnell Ridge Road from A-1 agricultural to I-3 intensive industrial, allowing development under the I-3 zoning classification.

  • Annexing approximately 296.21 acres east of Lollie Road into Conway and assigning it I-3 zoning, bringing the property within the City’s zoning and development system.

  • Annexing approximately 39.50 acres east of Lollie Road into Conway and assigning it I-3 zoning, bringing the property within the City’s zoning and development system.

  • The annexed properties are to receive police and fire protection, maintenance of publicly dedicated streets, and the opportunity to connect to Conway Corporation potable water, electric, and telecommunications services; connections are at the property owner’s expense.

Sources

current law · City of Conway
Restricts commercial data centers to nonresidential zones, limits residential data centers to personal, noncommercial use, and requires data center conditional-use applications to include building plans and noise studies.Conway Ordinance O-23-72 (2023)

What this means

The measure allows data centers in designated zones, but commercial centers are barred from residential zones and many projects need a conditional-use permit. Applicants may also have to submit building plans and noise studies, though the city cannot impose stricter sound limits under this code (residential restrictions; permit application requirements).

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements3

  • In residential districts, data centers and digital-asset mining are limited to personal, noncommercial use. They may not require third-party customers or employees to visit the site, or require exterior alterations to an existing structure or parking; they are not treated as home occupations. Commercial data-center use is restricted to nonresidential zones. Personal, noncommercial use

  • Where the permitted-use table requires a conditional use permit for a data center, approval involves a public hearing and City Council action. Notice must be published, posted, and mailed at least 15 days before the hearing, including to property owners within 200 feet. The application fee is at least $325. A new permit is required for an expansion, and a permit expires if the use does not begin within 18 months or ceases for more than 18 consecutive months. Conditional use permit requirements

  • For a data-center conditional-use application, Planning and Development staff may request additional information, including utility usage. The applicant must submit building plans, a noise study, and a noise-attenuation plan. Conditions may not impose sound-decibel limits stricter than those in O-23-55 or require special conditions for differing data-center types. Noise study and attenuation plan

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions3

  • The code expressly defines “Data Center,” including digital-asset mining and supporting equipment, and separately lists “Data Center (General)” and “Data Center (Limited)” as land uses. This gives these uses a defined path through the zoning use table rather than leaving them unlisted.

  • The use table allows Data Center (General) by conditional use permit in most zoning districts and by right in I-3. In residential districts, this is limited by Section 514 to personal, noncommercial use that does not require third-party customers or employees to visit or physical exterior or parking changes.

  • For conditional-use applications, the code bars conditions that impose sound-decibel limits stricter than those identified in O-23-55 or special conditions based on differing data-center types. Applicants must submit building plans, a noise study, and a noise-attenuation plan.

Sources

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