Kirksville council to take up data center rules, Lincoln School landmark status Monday
The Kirksville City Council is set to consider the city’s first zoning standards for data centers on Oct. 26. The proposed rules would limit data centers to heavy industrial areas, require special-use permits and power and water capacity confirmations, and impose restrictions on size, height, noise, cooling systems and tax incentives.
The Kirksville City Council will consider Bill No. 2026-49, which would establish the Missouri city’s first zoning standards for data centers. The proposal would allow server farms, bitcoin-mining operations and artificial-intelligence processing facilities only in the M-2 Heavy Industrial district with a special-use permit, while imposing limits on height, floor area, residential setbacks and noise.
The rules would also require operators to document power and water capacity, use closed-loop or similarly water-efficient cooling, submit annual public reports and post a decommissioning bond. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the standards unanimously after a September public hearing attended by more than 50 people, and the City Council could approve the bill on first and second readings Monday.