The Orange Planning Commission continued work on a data center definition and policy last week.
On Monday, town council members voted unanimously to recommend a definition of “data center” to the town council for approval. The definition takes into account the data center definition in state code, but is more general in nature. The proposed definition reads, “a use involving a building/premise in which the majority of the use is occupied by computers and/or telecommunications and related equipment, including supporting equipment and other associated components related to digital data operations, where information is processed, transferred and/or stored.”
Commission chairman Ben Sherman said he preferred the definition in the state code because it was more detailed, but the town’s proposed definition covers everything in more general wording.
The regulations and guidelines regarding data centers will be included in the town’s zoning ordinance in a special section on data centers. That section will be written based on the data center policy which the commission has been discussing since last month.
“The ordinance will come from everything that is in this policy,” director of community development Deborah Sturm said.
The policy contains information on development standards, environmental stewardship, operational requirements, community engagement and the comprehensive plan goals supporting data centers. In its current form, the policy does not contain specifics regarding height of buildings, setbacks and other specifics, which will likely come in the future. It does state ideal goals such as high-quality architectural design, requiring noise studies, adhering to Dark Sky lighting standards, utilizing high-efficiency cooling systems and ensuring efficient water use and minimizing resource impacts.
Sturm said the zoning ordinance will put numbers on things like distances from residences.
Commissioner Paige Sullenberger said she likes the idea of restricting data centers to industrial zoned areas since “it’s an industrial use.”
Commissioner Martha Roby said she doesn’t see a data center in the town’s near future, “unless someone knows something” she doesn’t. However, she said there needs to be policies in place for future staff members and council members to use when an application arises.
“Having [regulations] in place doesn’t mean [a data center] will be built in town,” Roby said. “It means there’s a legal process to evaluate and approve or deny [the use]. We’re trying to find a way to do this to protect the things in town that are essential to the Town of Orange.”
The council voted unanimously to send the draft policy to the town council.
The definition and policy come after the town council voted earlier this month to amend the zoning ordinance, removing data centers as a by-right use in the traditional town center (TTC) zoning district and change them from by-right to requiring a special use permit (SUP) in the town activity center (TAC), rural commercial (RC) and traditional industrial zoning districts (TI). Data centers are not permitted in the rural residential (RR), traditional residential low density (TR-L) and traditional residential high density (TR-H) districts. The council also voted to require an SUP for data centers in the Round Hill Traditional Neighborhood Development district.
