CHANDLER — Arizona municipalities have all sorts ordinances to regulate nearly every type of building,
But not many for data centers, apparently.
Data centers are rarely mentioned by name in municipal code anywhere in the U.S., except for cities where there are several such facilities.
Chandler has become one of those cities and an ordinance unanimously passed into law Dec. 8 addresses such facilities.
The main issue, according to Chandler planning administrator Kevin Mayo, is that as the data center industry has shifted from water-cooled buildings to electric-powered cooling. This coincides with efforts by the City of Chandler and governments everywhere to reduce water use of all types.
That cooling equipment, especially power generators, have become louder over time. Mayo said there was nothig on file with the city that addressed how loud data centers can be, or, really, anything about data center regulations at all.
Mayo said about one year ago, the Chandler City Council held a work session where sustainability to was a main topic. That’s when his department began working to craft a specific ordinance to regulate data centers.
That process led to the creation of Ordinance No. 5033. It was recommended for approval by a 7-0 vote in October by the Chandler Planning and Zoning Commission. The City Council gave in final approval Dec. 8.
Mayo said there are a handful of cities who address data centers specifically in development or commercial operations code. Such facilities are still not going to be allowed in any regular type of zoning, and can only be constructed as part of an approved planned area development plan.
There are between eight and 12 data centers operating in Chandler. Only two of those are still water-cooled.
He said one clarification in the ordinance is establishing the distance from which noise is measured. Noise cannot increase from the baseline recorded before construction.
“We wanted to create more clarity,” Mayo told yourvalley.net. “Generators make noise. We wanted to let developers know where that noise is measured from.”
A city staff report says staff is unaware of any opposition to the changes. The report says that over time, as data centers have evolved from single-user buildings to larger multi-tenant campuses.
Several of these sites are in the Price Road corridor, south of Loop 202.
Mayo said there is currently only one data center in the city’s development pipeline as of mid-December, with no others on the horizon.
Here are some of the provisions of the ordinance:
-Data centers, as a primary use, are only permitted in PAD zoning designations.
-Data centers, as an ancillary use, will have size limitations, must indicate a purpose and be located on-site.
-Public notification protocol is established for pre- and post-construction, including neighborhood meetings and the need for an on-site liaison.
-A pre-construction sound study establishes a noise baseline.
-There are requirements for the incorporation of sound mitigation measures to ensure noise levels from each data center do not exceed levels observed during baseline study.
-Each data center must conduct an annual noise study during peak operation times for 5 years after construction completion.
-Backup generators will undergo routine maintenance and have testing time limitations, including notification protocol.
-Several public notification protocols are listed.
Jason W. Brooks is a News editor for the Daily Independent and the Chandler Independent.
He covers the Chandler area for both yourvalley.net and the monthly print edition while writing for and assisting in the production of the Daily Independent.
Brooks is a well-traveled journalist who has documented life in small American communities in nearly all U.S. time zones.
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised there and in suburban Los Angeles, he has covered community news in California, New Mexico, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and northern Arizona.
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