Data center regulations headed to Wheeling City Council on Tuesday
Photo by Eric Ayres Trending
WHEELING - A new ordinance to implement regulations on data centers in the city of Wheeling is expected to be introduced as new legislation before city council this coming week.
Members of the Rules Committee of Council - along with the city’s legal department, city administration and other council members - have been working on the development of this new addition to the city code for several weeks.
A working draft of the proposed ordinance has been available for public view on the city’s website for several weeks, and city leaders have welcomed suggestions and input from the community while the legislation was being crafted. The final version of the ordinance - approximately 16 pages in length - is scheduled to be presented to Wheeling City Council for a first reading this coming Tuesday night in council chambers.
Some council members noted they had not received input from their constituents since the draft was posted online for public view. Councilman Tony Assaro, who represents the Ward 1 neighborhood of Warwood where a data center is planned for the former Centre Foundry & Machine Company facility along River Road, said he had heard from his constituents about the proposal.
Assaro attended an informational gathering held at the Ohio County Public Library recently organized by a number of individuals who have urged the city to help stop Silicon Foundation from developing the Warwood data center altogether.
"I was at a community meeting about this," Assaro noted during the most recent Rules Committee meeting about the proposed regulations on data centers. "Generally, they were happy with this."
Some modifications to language in certain sections were suggested, and the legal department made changes before the final version of the document was presented as a new ordinance.
Planning and Zoning Code Article 1365 creates language in the city’s codified ordinances to include regulations on data centers in Industrial Districts in the city. The language is designed to establish the application process, requirements for development and performance standards and electrical power demand regulations. It also outlines regulations on water consumption and reuse in a closed-loop cooling system, wastewater, noise, air emissions and other potential impacts associated with data center facilities.
Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth said comments about the draft were integrated into the final document. She noted these regulations cover all data center regulations for facilities with a capacity of up to 90 megawatts. Operations with larger capacities would fall under West Virginia code as outlined in House Bill 2014, which gives state jurisdiction over facilities deemed to be high-impact data centers.
Silicon Foundation has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the city that states that they will not seek to expand its operations to a high-impact status.
There are a number of requirements outlined in the legislation for companies that wish to develop a data center within the city limits of Wheeling.
"Prior to construction, expansion or substantial modification of a data center, the applicant shall submit a site plan and supporting documentation sufficient for the city to evaluate the anticipated impacts of the proposed facility on public infrastructure and surrounding properties," according to the language regarding site plan and utility impact.
Data centers will only be permitted on properties in areas zoned as I-1 Light Industrial Use or I-2 General Industrial Use. The former Centre Foundry property is already zoned for the appropriate Industrial use.
The ordinance also has a section regarding expert assistance. The language notes that the city may hire a consultant to assist in reviewing and evaluating an application. The applicant could be charged up to $40,000 to cover consultant fees, with a $20,000 deposit required for this purpose.
Language in the ordinance also outlines requirements of a non-refundable application fee of $5,000 for a special use permit, a performance security bond of at least $75,000 for a data center facility and $25,000 for other structure, liability insurance, and other fines and consequences for violations, including potential revocation of the required special use permit that is needed to operate.
"I’d like to give a shout out to our city staff, our administration and our legal team for putting together the draft ordinance on the data centers," said Councilman Dave Palmer. "For months, we were caught off guard about the whole thing. For months, we listened and took a lot of grief. I think that we showed that we can react - maybe not as quickly as everybody thinks, because there’s a lot to do with this. But again, thank you to everyone who helped put that together for the Rules Committee."
A second reading of the legislation and a final vote to adopt the ordinance on data center regulations is expected to take place at the regular meeting of Wheeling City Council slated for Dec. 1.