New data center regulations passed by Athens City Council

Downtown Athens 64 — Athens amended its zoning guidelines in the event a data center is proposed within the city limits. (Ben Johnson / Hville Blast)

The City of Athens is getting ahead of the curve, so to speak, by passing regulations on data centers within the city limits before an actual data center has been proposed.

Monday night’s vote follows issues that other cities in the state have faced surrounding data centers.

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Athens votes to regulate data centers

27941fc9 064b 4b18 a8dd e8e578932cd7 — “Data Center Build Out” by skreuzer is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The city approved a measure addressing data centers as a conditional use in the manufacturing/heavy industrial zone. This provides an additional level of scrutiny and the ability to apply conditions of use, but restricts the location and does not offer a guarantee of approval.

The City of Athens has not received a request related to a data center, but the city leaders saw a growing trend that communities across the U.S. are dealing with regarding proposed data centers, and many of those communities, including Athens, had zoning ordinances that did not address them.

Mayor Ronnie Marks said many Athens residents expressed concerns over the possibility of a data center opening in the city. These were primarily concerns regarding noise, energy efficiency and security.

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