As neighboring communities grapple with proposals for large-scale data centers, Richmond Hill officials say the city's current development ordinance already prohibits such facilities, making it unlikely that developers seeking to locate such an operation there could move forward without a significant zoning change.
"Data centers are still a very new concept and there are different elements to consider regarding them," said Bryan Crooks, director of planning and zoning. "Data centers would be considered prohibited uses and staff is not recommending any changes related to data centers at this time. Under Appendix A of the unified development ordinance, data centers are not considered as a use. An amendment to the UDO would be required for the development to be considered.
The City does not have special use permits that allow for uses not within the land use table or similar to an existing use within the land use table."
Richmond Hill planning and zoning minutes from May 11 reveal the board was considering looking into additional restrictions regarding various uses such as data centers. Crooks said no one has expressed interest in building a data center in Richmond Hill and that the city has not received any concerns from residents amid the growing number of data centers throughout the state, including in nearby Effingham County where OpenAI is investing $20 billion for a 1,440-acre campus and hundreds of jobs.
"We will possibly be looking at future use restrictions regarding certain proposed uses, such as Data Centers. Data Centers are a hot topic and with our current water capabilities, they would not be feasible," reads the minutes.
But when asked what additional measures could be added, Crooks said that data centers are a prohibited use. City Clerk Dawnne Greene expanded upon that.
"Nothing was under review specific to data centers," said Greene. "Data centers, as a land use, were noted only as an example. Data centers are already prohibited."
City Council could amend the ordinance to allow data centers in the future.
"Any amendment would have to go through the text amendment process," said Greene. "This requires advertising for and holding a public hearing, and two readings with City Council, where they ultimately decide to approve or deny the text amendment."
Local governments across Georgia have begun reevaluating data center regulations amid concerns about electricity demand, water consumption, land use and tax incentives associated with large facilities. Several communities have adopted moratoriums or begun studying potential restrictions while weighing economic development opportunities against infrastructure impacts.
"Data centers are still a relatively new use, so limited information regarding their impacts is available," said Greene. "Staff could not recommend for or against data centers until a better understanding of their land use impacts is known."
According to cleanview.com, the state has 43 data centers and another 134 planned.
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Data centers are a prohibited use in Richmond Hill
