Collier commissioners are looking to put a pause on the construction of large data centers.
Although there are no such centers proposed in the county, there are no real rules to address them in the land development code.
After hearing opposition to hyperscale data centers from public speakers at its regular board meeting on July 14, the board directed the county attorney to come back with a plan to put a temporary pause on them. The pause would give the county time to adopt land development code amendments.
The process of amending the land development code can take anywhere from a few months to more than a year, depending on the complexity of the changes.
While county commissioners discussed putting a more formal one-year moratorium on the acceptance and processing of new applications for large-scale data centers, when asked for his opinion county attorney Jeffrey Klatzkow said he wouldn’t recommend it.
Rather, he said, the commissioners should consider declaring what’s known as a “zoning in progress” to signal that they are actively updating or drafting new zoning regulations. With the declaration, the county could deny new applications or pause them until it can hammer out and adopt new regulations.
Klatzkow suggested that the board allow him to bring back a formal recommendation on next steps in two weeks at its next regularly scheduled meeting. By a nod of heads, commissioners agreed to wait until then to take action.
During discussions, Commissioner Bill McDaniel asked whether there was anything in the current land development code that allows large data centers “by right.” He called on Mike Bosi, the county’s planning and zoning director, for an answer.
In answer, Bosi explained there was nothing in the code to prevent a large-scale data center from being built in the county. He said the code allows data centers, but doesn’t address the data centers of today, with the language for it dating back to the 1980s.
The 1980s codes did not anticipate the mega centers of today that house massive servers in support of artificial intelligence. Instead, they applied to “computer rooms” or “glass houses” supporting centralized mainframes, which are allowed in most commercial and industrial zoning districts, Bosi said.
At a Collier County Planning Commission meeting on July 16, county staff had already planned to ask the commission for direction to create regulations for the new type of data center. County staff doesn’t initiate these types of code amendments, Bosi said.
He said the mega center would fit the bill under what’s currently allowed under the code because the language is so broad.
At this week’s planning commission meeting, Bosi said county staff planned to share a 10-page document by 1000 Friends of Florida, a nonprofit smart-growth advocacy organization, outlining concerns that should be addressed “within the rulemaking process.” The organization’s concerns are centered around how the massive, energy- and water-intensive centers impact Florida’s natural resources, rural lands and local communities.
Bosi expressed support for a zoning in progress declaration.
Commissioner Burt Saunders questioned how much vacant commercial and industrial land was left or available to support the large data centers, with so much of the county’s land already developed or preserved.
“The fear of having one these just pop up is probably not likely,” he said.
Still, he said, it would be a good idea to impose a moratorium, or to declare a zoning in progress, to allow time to update the rules, so the county doesn’t have to worry about one coming forward in the county without the proper guardrails.
“There’s a process we have to go through,” he said. “We’re here all summer, so why don’t we just start that process?”
In response to Saunders’ comments about not having the land available for mega data centers, McDaniel pointed out the county has been approving large-scale developments out east, including rural villages and towns, that include “commercial zoning capacities.”
Commission chairman Dan Kowal agreed the land development code should be revisited to address the new kind of data center.
“I think we need to do something to pump the brakes on it, to get ahead of it,” he said.
He said it’s important to realize that Collier County has a “very small postage stamp of land left” to be developed, and with little land left to live on as “human beings.”
While the county’s total land mass is approximately 1.3 million acres, more than 75% of it is permanently protected as conservation lands, preserves, and as state or federal parks.
In concluding the discussion, Kowal emphasized that the large data centers take up a lot of space and use up a lot of resources and energy, and that “our future children” should have the right to live somewhere, and that right should not be taken away by irresponsible or unchecked growth.
“I think this is something we really take seriously, as we move forward after today,” he said.
Laura Layden is a senior business and government reporter. Reach her by email at laura.layden@naplesnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Collier County seeks to pause, regulate mega data centers
Reporting by Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
