Perryville, Perry County Officials Discuss Updated Data Center Ordinance
Officials in Perryville and Perry County, Missouri, held a presentation to discuss an updated ordinance for data center regulations. The ordinance includes new requirements like environmental impact assessments and setbacks, and outlines the county's limited ability to regulate outside city limits without a planning and zoning commission. Discussions covered potential economic benefits, national security, and the community's role in shaping future ordinance updates.
Officials from Perryville and Perry County, Missouri, recently held a presentation to detail updates to a data center ordinance, originally adopted in February. City administrator Brent Buerck, city attorney Art Pistorio, Mayor Larry Riney, and county clerk Jared Kutz addressed attendees, discussing the new regulations and the complexities of local government's role in controlling data center development.
Buerck elaborated on the revised ordinance, which now mandates lighting plans, stormwater pollution prevention, environmental impact assessments, and a letter of support from the PCSD #32 School Board. It also requires sewage treatment, fire protection, and a minimum 500-foot setback from residential areas, childcare, or facilities for the developmentally disabled, restricting data centers to industrial parks. Buerck also highlighted more stringent rules, including a 24-month waiting period for reapplication after denial and a clause preventing developers from appealing board denials in court.
Kutz explained that Perry County faces limitations in regulating data centers outside city limits due to the absence of a planning and zoning commission, a body that would require voter approval and could be seen as infringing on personal property rights. Despite these challenges, both officials emphasized the inevitability of data center growth and Perryville's potential to benefit economically from small-scale developments through job creation and increased tax revenue, while also addressing national security concerns by locating data centers within the U.S.
Mayor Riney concluded the meeting by encouraging public engagement, noting that the ordinance is still subject to change, with a second reading likely scheduled for September 1st. Citizens were invited to directly voice their concerns and questions to officials following the presentation.