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The Data Center Divide

Garrard County

Anti-Data Center Policies

Garrard County’s enacted ordinance imposes strict siting limits, 1,500-foot setbacks, detailed studies, utility-capacity proof, and financial guarantees, making data-center development difficult but not banning it. The description inconsistently calls these requirements proposed.

current law · County measure
Would restrict where data centers can be built and require large setbacks, impact studies, proof of adequate utility capacity, public hearings, and financial guarantees for eventual removal.Proposed Garrard County Data Center Ordinance (first reading, Ordinance No. O-7-13-26-1)

What this means

The proposed ordinance would make development substantially harder through strict siting limits, 1,500-foot setbacks, detailed studies, utility-capacity proof, and financial guarantees (the proposed requirements). The county attorney said these rules could make it “nearly impossible” to locate a data center, though they do not amount to a complete ban.

People behind it

  • Introduced Ordinance No. O-7-13-26-1 and led the Fiscal Court’s effort to develop and present the measure.

  • Pursued the standalone data-center ordinance and approved its first reading.

  • Moved to approve the ordinance’s first reading, with a correction to the setback provision.

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  • Seconded the motion to approve the ordinance’s first reading.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements12

  • Prohibits data centers from being located on prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance, on slopes exceeding 20 percent, in floodplains, within 50 feet of wetlands, in karst-vulnerable terrain, or where threatened or endangered species or critical habitat would be affected.

  • Requires a data center to be set back 1,500 feet from any Sensitive Use or from the boundary of residential, commercial, or agricultural property.

  • Requires additional setbacks of 1,000 to 2,000 feet for emission points or exhaust stacks associated with backup power systems.

  • Limits noise at the property line to 40 dBA and 60 dBC from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., and to 45 dBA and 65 dBC during other hours.

  • Imposes vibration and low-frequency infrasound limits tied to ANSI and ISO human-exposure guidelines.

  • Requires full-cutoff or shielded lighting, limits illumination at the property line to 0.1 foot-candles, and requires automatic dimming or shutoff after hours.

  • Requires landscape buffering, screening, and berming around the facility and restricts the materials and height of fencing.

  • Requires an extensive application package, including a site development plan, traffic study, certified-acoustical-engineer noise assessment, waste-management plan, water and wastewater assessment, emissions assessment, and a property-value-impact appraisal for landowners within one mile.

  • Requires documented proof from utility providers that the facility's electricity, water, and wastewater demands can be met without increasing costs or reducing service quality for existing customers.

  • Allows the Fiscal Court to require an outside consultant to review an application, with the applicant responsible for the consultant's cost.

  • Requires a decommissioning plan prepared by a registered professional engineer, including a removal-cost estimate and a performance bond or letter of credit payable to the Fiscal Court to guarantee removal if the developer defaults.

  • Requires final Fiscal Court approval only after public notice and a public hearing before construction can proceed.

Sources

Specific to Garrard County only.

pending · County measure
Does not impose data-center-specific rules; it establishes ethics and financial-disclosure requirements for Garrard County officials and employees.Proposed Amendment to Garrard County Code of Ethics Concerning Data-Center NDAs

What this means

The proposed rules would make data center development extremely difficult, with broad siting exclusions, large setbacks, strict operating limits, costly studies, and financial guarantees. The county attorney said the restrictions could make it “nearly impossible” to locate a data center, though they do not ban facilities outright.

People behind it

  • Enacted the Code of Ethics ordinance and considered and approved the first reading of the data-center ordinance.

  • Administers the Code of Ethics and enforces its civil penalties.

  • Receives financial-disclosure and gift reports and forwards them to the County Ethics Committee.

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  • Receives ethics complaints and forwards them to the County Ethics Committee.

  • Introduced the proposed data-center ordinance.

  • Moved to approve the first reading of the proposed data-center ordinance.

  • Seconded the motion to approve the first reading of the proposed data-center ordinance.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements11

  • Prohibits data centers from being located on prime farmland, farmland of statewide importance, land with slopes over 20 percent, floodplains, within 50 feet of wetlands, karst-vulnerable terrain, or areas where threatened or endangered species or critical habitat would be affected.

  • Requires data centers to be set back 1,500 feet from sensitive uses and from the boundaries of residential, commercial, or agricultural property. Backup-power emission points or exhaust stacks require additional setbacks of 1,000 to 2,000 feet.

  • Limits noise at the property line to 40 dBA and 60 dBC from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., and 45 dBA and 65 dBC during other hours.

  • Imposes vibration and low-frequency infrasound limits tied to ANSI and ISO human-exposure guidelines.

  • Requires full-cutoff or shielded lighting, limits light at the property line to 0.1 foot-candles, and requires automatic dimming or shutoff after hours.

  • Requires landscaping buffers, screening, and berming, and restricts the materials and height of fencing.

  • Requires a detailed application containing a site development plan, traffic study, certified-acoustical-engineer noise assessment, waste-management plan, water and wastewater usage assessment, emissions assessment, and a property-value-impact appraisal for landowners within one mile.

  • Requires documented proof from utility providers that the project’s electricity, water, and wastewater demands can be met without increasing costs or reducing service quality for existing customers.

  • Allows the Fiscal Court to hire an outside consultant to review a data-center application, with the applicant required to pay the consultant’s cost.

  • Requires a decommissioning plan prepared by a registered professional engineer, including a removal-cost estimate and a performance bond or letter of credit payable to the Fiscal Court to guarantee removal if the developer defaults.

  • Requires final Fiscal Court approval only after public notice and a public hearing.

Sources

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