So um okay.

Hello, everybody.

We'll go ahead and get started today.

Is February 27th?

We're on the record from one to two.

It's 101 p.m.

right now.

We're here to discuss AO 2026-27, which is an ordinance anchorage assembly amending Anchorage Municipal Code, Chapter 2105, 2140 Old Code, and 2150 Old Code and sections 2109050, 2110050, 2135020 old code to clarify the land use review process for data centers.

And similarly, similar energy intensive facilities and requesting the planning department to develop use specific criteria for energy intensive uses and waiving planning zoning commission.

We'll start with introductions, Ms.

Baldwin Day.

Aaron Baldwin Day.

Zach Johnson.

Daniel Bolland.

Anna Brawley.

Christopher Constant on the phone, Mr.

Martinez.

Present.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you.

So this work session was requested by the sponsor, the vice chairman's probably go ahead, Ms.

Riley.

Yeah, thank you.

And we'll talk a little bit about the ordinance itself.

So this is co-sponsored by myself and member Voland.

And the first part of the presentation, we're going to back up from what this ordinance does and really just talk about data centers because we know this is a hot topic.

Many other communities are actually further along than we are because they've seen a lot of construction.

We're uh more in the potential future potential uh category, but um helpful to understand what these facilities are, and that sets the stage for why we might want to regulate them.

So next slide, please.

Um so again, what are data centers?

Why is everyone talking about them?

Next slide again.

Um, so a data center is um really, and I saw this phrase multiple times, powering the internet.

So it's really a facility with a bunch of computers in it that is either running uh potentially an artificial intelligence model.

Um, these have actually been around for a long time, cloud storage, right?

A lot of different uses you can think of related to physical storage of data or physical data processing um that we uh utilize on our phones, on our computers, um, you know, all kinds of companies use these.

Uh a company might have one themselves.

There might be one that has multiple functions at the same site.

So they look like a lot of different things.

But essentially, from a land use perspective, they are a building or multiple structures that have a lot of computer servers in them.

Um that requires uh a cooling system of some kind, often water-based, um, but other models um because you know, those servers, especially when they're together and there's a lot of them, generate a lot of heat.

Um, they also use a lot of energy, of course.

And so uh often there can be energy generation on site.

Maybe it's a backup generator, maybe it's a renewable energy um uh system.

And then they might have bad uh backup battery storage as well.

So there's those pieces.

And then of course, because it's a very large building, um, you might have offices, parking, storage, right?

The kinds of things you would think of it as an industrial facility.

Uh next slide, please.

So I think it's also important to understand that data centers can be large and small.

Um, so these are two examples that I found.

Uh one of them is in Iowa, but you can find you know hundreds of pictures of these at this point.

Um you can picture very large warehouse, um, you know, some infrastructure, you can just get a size, a sense of the size of it.

Um, and there's something called a hyperscale facility.

So these are the ones that's generally the term for the really big ones, often for uh generative AI or the ones that have really intensive computing needs.

Um, and so those are getting built all over the country.

Um, but also there are some closer to home.

So this is one example, a company called Green Spark.

Um, they have a project in Cordova.