Hoover City Council to consider guardrails for data centers

The Hoover City Council is slated to consider a significant amendment to its zoning ordinance on Monday, May 11, aimed at implementing new "guardrails" for potential data center developments within the city. City Planner Mac Martin informed the council that without this change, future data center applications would proceed directly to permitting with the Inspection Services Department, bypassing critical public hearings or council review, as current zoning largely permits such uses by right. Martin's recommendation calls for classifying "office/technical uses" – the closest existing definition for modern data centers – as requiring "conditional use" approval. This would mandate review and approval from both the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. Officials, including Councilman Robin Schultz, emphasized this as a proactive step to prevent situations like the one in nearby Birmingham, where a Nebius AI factory project proceeded despite resident protests because the land was already zoned for data center use. The proposed change seeks to provide city staff with the ability to review applications thoroughly, request impact studies, and ultimately have the option to deny projects deemed unsuitable for a particular property, giving the city greater control over development and mitigating potential issues like high water and electricity consumption, and noise and light pollution. Councilwoman Ashley Lovell also noted that the change allows for case-by-case review, recognizing that not all data centers pose the same impacts.