Walker County Panel Considers Heavy Industrial Zoning and Decibel Caps for Data Centers

The Walker County Data Center Development Standards Study Committee recently held its second meeting to develop potential zoning restrictions, noise pollution controls, and utility usage guidelines for new data center developments. The session included reviewing public feedback and evaluating various regulatory options.

Committee Chair Stephanie Watkins presented findings from a countywide FlashVote survey, indicating that 69% of respondents were primarily concerned about increased electricity and water costs. Discussions also touched upon financial incentives, with District 3 appointee Laura Owsley raising concerns about state tax incentives and the potential for devalued data center operations to reduce local tax revenue. To safeguard the county's property tax base, committee members considered requiring permanent, fixed buildings with aesthetic standards and equipment audit requirements, discouraging temporary modular pods.

Environmental impacts, particularly noise pollution, were a significant topic. District 4 appointee Kenneth Wilson proposed mandatory impact studies, while Owsley advocated for additional environmental studies in the approval process. Owsley also shared results from an independent sound test at a nearby data center, which showed noise levels exceeding recommended ambient levels, prompting her to urge the county to incorporate specific A-weighted and C-weighted decibel caps with daily fines for violations into the draft ordinance. On power infrastructure, District 1 appointee Barney Danks noted the Tennessee Valley Authority's requirement for facilities consuming over 5 megawatts to participate in peak demand curtailment programs. Planning & Zoning Director Jon Pursley indicated electricity supply as a larger concern than water usage, while District 1 appointee Jason Rader reiterated the need for closed-loop cooling systems.

A key point of consensus was to restrict data centers to industrial parks and classify them as heavy industrial. This would necessitate formal action by the Board of Commissioners to create such a zoning classification, as Walker County currently lacks one. The committee also discussed the need for clear ordinance definitions to distinguish between smaller micro-facilities and large-scale hyperscale data centers, and Owsley recommended requiring upfront decommissioning surety bonds to protect against abandoned facilities. The committee will continue reviewing ordinances from other communities, plans a tour of an operational data center this fall, and has scheduled its next meeting for September 24th.