The Orange Town Council will host a public hearing next month regarding recommended changes that would require potential data center projects to undergo a special use permit (SUP) application process.
Last week, the Orange Planning Commission held a public hearing to amend the town zoning ordinance to remove 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 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. During the hearing, several residents voiced their concerns about data centers, including impacts on surrounding properties and natural resources. The commission ultimately recommended the changes to the town council for approval.
Also included in the public hearing were two definition changes–data centers and schools. The current data center definition is said to be “inconsistent with current data center function and purpose” and would be replaced by “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.”
As for schools, this change is not related to data centers and was instead spurred by a recent inquiry regarding opening a cooking school in town. The amended school definition would have two additional sections added including “unlicensed instruction for children and adults in a group setting in the arts, vocational and hobby activities and academic tutoring” and “post-secondary curriculum and instruction.”
The commission recommended the school definition for approval to the town council, but said it needed more time to refine the data center definition.
“More research needs to be put into that,” commissioner Martha Roby said. “I would like to see us extend it to future discussions.”
On Tuesday, Orange Director of Community Development Deborah Sturm said the commission’s hearing also revealed an additional issue. The town’s Round Hill Traditional Neighborhood Development district also includes data centers as a by-right use. Sturm said for consistency, council should consider amending the use table to change data centers to require an SUP.
Council members said they’d also like to see something more educational be compiled for residents regarding data centers.
“It’s advantageous to approach this from an educational perspective,” mayor Harrison Cluff said. “As I’m starting to research these industries there are so many aspects to consider from size to power to cooling to emissions to noise. It’s a lot of things to look at and consider.”
Cluff suggested approaching the topic from a neutral standpoint with both pros and cons.
Council member Donna Waugh-Robinson said the recommended amendments are the first step so that data centers are no longer a by-right use.
“This is protecting our zones and different areas,” she said. “I feel we need to do this first step.”
Council member Delmer Seal suggested having a map showing where the zoning districts are located in the town so people could see where data centers could locate. Sturm said a copy of the zoning map, which is available on the town’s website, could also be provided at meetings.
Council members scheduled a public hearing on the recommended changes Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, the town planning commission is also working on a draft data center policy. Once developed, the policy will be used to create provisions regarding data centers.
“We want to make sure we’re prepared as a town, a community to address the possibility of a data center,” director of community development Deborah Sturm said.
