BUNNELL — With continued concerns over the potential impacts data centers may have on communities across the country, Flagler County is trying to get ahead of any major issues.
The Flagler Board of County Commissioners July 13 unanimously approved the first reading of a one-year moratorium on any data center projects proposed in unincorporated areas within the county.
According to the proposed ordinance, Flagler County currently “lacks specific comprehensive plan policies and land development regulations addressing the siting, compatibility, infrastructure capacity, water demand, environmental impacts, emergency service impacts, and public facility impacts of large-scale data centers and large load customer facilities.”
Large-scale data centers, officials say, “may require significant and continuous electrical demand, water supply, cooling infrastructure, wastewater capacity, stormwater infrastructure, backup generation, fuel storage, fire protection, emergency response planning, security infrastructure, and related public facilities and services.”
For those reasons, officials say “a temporary moratorium is necessary and appropriate to allow county staff to study these issues and prepare proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code,” according to the ordinance.
The proposed one-year period will “allow for staff review, public input, drafting, notice, hearings … and implementation of appropriate regulations.”
The BOCC will make its final decision on the proposed ordinance during its next meeting on Aug. 3.
Data center moratorium to allow for ‘educational’ period for Flagler
Vice Chair Kim Carney asked where such projects could be built in the county.
”Everywhere,” said County Attorney Michael Rodriguez. “A lot of these (data center projects) are targeting rural areas,” though some companies may buy a commercial building to bring a small operation, he said.
”But they really do eye rural locations, where they can basically assemble large tracts of land,” Rodriguez added.
The measure, Commissioner Andy Dance argued, is “about planning before permitting.”
“(Data centers) are not traditional commercial industrial uses,” Dance said. “We’re finding more information about them every day.”
He said the one year will allow for an educational period, where the county could hold public hearings with experts on data centers to clarify the local government’s and residents’ concerns.
— Brenno Carillo is a local government reporter covering Flagler County, including Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, for The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler moves ahead with data center moratorium amid calls for clarity
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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By Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
