Greenville City Council Workshop on Data Processing Center Standards — March 11, 2024
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Greenville City Council Workshop on Data Processing Center Standards — March 11, 2024
[The Greenville City Council held a workshop on March 11, 2024, from 4:11 PM to 6:02 PM, to discuss the city's current standards for data processing centers and modular data processing facilities. The discussion focused on whether to keep, modify, repeal, or ban these standards, with special emphasis on cryptocurrency mining operations. Council members expressed divergent views on the need for a moratorium while staff research potential modifications. The workshop concluded without a final decision; instead, a motion was made to consider adding a vote on initiating a moratorium to the regular meeting agenda later that evening.]
Consent Calendar
- The agenda was approved unanimously (5-0) after a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Daniels, seconded by Council Member Willis. Council Member Robinson arrived at 4:12 PM.
Discussion Items
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Presentation by Chief Planner Chantae Gooby: She reviewed the current Greenville standards for data processing centers (2,500 ft separation from schools and single-family homes; sound study at discretion; modular allowed with 100 ft setback and 35-acre minimum). She presented standards from other North Carolina jurisdictions, noting that most are rural and lack comprehensive plans. Four options were outlined: keep, modify, repeal, or ban the standards. Staff recommended against an outright ban due to legal risks.
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Council Debate:
- Council Member Blackburn advocated for a moratorium to allow time for study and to prevent cryptocurrency mining operations from entering under current standards, citing community opposition and potential risks to the power grid and public peace.
- Council Member Robinson expressed legal concerns, arguing that the current standards are already highly restrictive, there have been no applications, and a moratorium would require evidence that existing standards are inadequate. He worried about legal challenges and cautioned against regulating a lawful use out of business.
- Council Member Foreman emphasized the duty to represent citizens, especially those in the ETJ who would be most impacted, and supported exploring tighter restrictions—including possibly banning modular outdoor facilities—without a full ban.
- Council Member Scully questioned whether a moratorium was justified and asked for data on where such facilities could still locate under current rules.
- Mayor Connelly noted the issue stemmed from a 2022 ordinance after the Compute North bankruptcy and suggested that further modification might be better handled without a moratorium.
- City Attorney Michael Cowin explained the legal requirements for a moratorium: a clear statement of the problem, consideration of alternatives, and a plan for action. He stated that public perception alone is not a sufficient legal basis; specific problems (e.g., grid capacity, noise) must be demonstrated.
- Staff clarified that they cannot distinguish cryptocurrency mining from other data processing because they lack technical expertise and that any significant increase in restrictions risks being seen as a constructive ban.
Key Outcomes
- No formal vote was taken at the workshop.
- Council Member Blackburn requested that the item be added to the regular meeting agenda that same evening (the March 11 regular meeting) for a vote on initiating a moratorium. This request received some support but also hesitancy from members who wanted more legal clarity.
- Council agreed to continue the discussion and potentially take action at the regular meeting later that day.
- Staff were directed to provide additional information regarding possible locations for modular data centers and the legal basis for a moratorium.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good afternoon, everyone. Uh I'd like to call the workshop of the Google City Council Order for March 11th, 2024. I'm your PJ Connelly presiding over the workshop. First elected call on our city clerk for the roll call. Present Council of Corinth. Council Member Stelle. Council Member Robinson should be on the way. Council Member Wells. All those members are aye. All right, I'll get started. So this is a follow-up from a discussion item from your January 8th meeting. And this is again this is a report on your standards for data processing. The applicant at the time was ENC Alliance, but it was to allow this use for anyone. At that time, there were very few places that actually had standards. So city the city staff researched different places for what we could find. And then we also added some additional standards as far as any kind of mitigation or noise, sound, and even aesthetics. So in Greenville, we differentiate this use on the left hand side. You see what we would call a data processing center or what would be self-contained. And then on your right hand side, you have what we call modular data facilities. And essentially, those are usually a storage unit that holds the equipment inside, and there's usually just many of these storage units on a large piece of property. So data processing is done by private industry, it's done by public. So inside the facilities, there are computers, hard drives for storage, software, power equipment, and this is what the inside would look like regardless of whether it's housed inside of a building or if it's inside of a storage unit. This is an example of what I would consider a small-scale modular data center. You can see that this unit actually sits beside of a larger building. And the purpose of that is to keep the equipment in the computers inside cold. These chillers though are used by all sorts of large buildings. This isn't specifically to data processing. These are the kind of buildings that keep hospitals cold, college buildings, etc. And then this is an example of a large-scale modular data processing center. You can see that there's storage units all in a line, and then that silver type of hood that you see on that. That's just another example of the way to keep the equipment cool. So as of right now, there have been no requests for any kind of data processing center. The next few slides are going to be the standards for both uses. So we're going to cover those and then we'll break out the specific uses and their differences. Also, some of the standards for both uses. So we're sitting here in City Hall. This map is showing you that within that red circle, the red circle itself is a half mile. So from here to the other side of the river is a half mile. So that gives you some idea or some perspective of what would be a half mile distance. So for the sound or noise ordinance, sound should not exceed 65 dBA or 65 decibels. And that is for any when the property abuts anything other than industrial. Your sound can go up to 75 dBA when it is a budding industrial districts. And also at the discretion of the planning and development services director, a sound study can be required. So no equipment or structures can exceed 35 feet in height, so that's roughly three stories. And then all exterior lights have to have cutouts and they have to be shielded so that the light is directed downward away from properties or streets. So specifically for the modular data processing centers, all equipment and structures have to have a 100-foot setback from the property line. The property shall not be less than 35 acres, and then also a buffer yard F is required. So a buffer yard F for every 100 linear feet, and I'm going to show you an example of how this works. But for every 100 linear feet, you have eight large evergreen trees, 10 small evergreens, and then 36 evergreen shrubs. So if we pretend that this is the site, we're looking down on this like it's an aerial.
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