Across Alabama, residents aren’t necessarily saying “no” to data centers. They’re asking questions. How much water will they use? Will they be noisy? Where should they be built? And perhaps most importantly, how can communities welcome new investment without changing the character of the places people call home?
Those questions are driving conversations in cities across the state, and now they’re at the center of Fort Payne’s effort to write its own rules before any developer comes knocking.
During its June 16 meeting, the Fort Payne City Council unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on data center development while city leaders draft zoning regulations governing where the facilities could locate and how they would operate. Fort Payne joins a growing list of Alabama cities taking a closer look at the rapidly evolving industry. Birmingham has already adopted a comprehensive zoning ordinance for hyperscale data centers, while Leeds, Homewood and Cullman have also approved moratoriums, according to ALdotcom.
Unlike some communities responding to active development proposals, Fort Payne officials emphasized they have not received any inquiries about building a data center within the city. Instead, they said the moratorium gives the city time to establish clear rules before a proposal ever reaches City Hall.
“We’re just trying to get ahead of things before it does come up,” Zoning Administrator Nick Brown told council members.
Fort Payne’s effort comes at a different stage than Birmingham’s. Birmingham spent months crafting what city officials described as one of Alabama’s most comprehensive data center ordinances while considering a proposed hyperscale data center in the Oxmoor Valley area. The Birmingham City Council ultimately adopted a 20-point ordinance covering issues such as water use, noise mitigation, setbacks, electrical demand, landscaping and public notification after months of public meetings, revisions and debate.
Cullman recently approved a one-year moratorium to study the issue and develop zoning regulations before deciding how future data centers should be regulated. Fort Payne officials said they hope to accomplish much the same thing–establishing standards before the city receives its first proposal.
Brown told council members Fort Payne’s current zoning ordinance contains no provisions specifically addressing data centers or battery energy storage systems. Without new regulations, he said, the city would have little control over where those facilities could be located.
The proposal now being developed would allow data centers primarily in the city’s M2 heavy industrial district and require conditional-use approval through the Board of Zoning Adjustment. Each proposal would also include a public hearing, giving residents an opportunity to weigh in before any decision is made.
Council members approved the six-month moratorium to give the Planning Commission time to develop recommendations before returning the ordinance to the council for consideration.
When the Planning Commission met June 23, residents, economic development officials and technical experts spent several hours discussing what those regulations should include.
Brown stressed that the city is not trying to prohibit data centers. Instead, officials want standards in place before one is ever proposed. He also said the ordinance should avoid unintentionally limiting existing manufacturers that may need digital infrastructure as they expand.
Among the provisions discussed were limiting data centers primarily to heavy industrial zoning, requiring conditional-use approval, public hearings, detailed site plans and a 1,000-foot setback from residential property lines.
Residents also suggested requiring environmental impact studies, water-use plans, electrical demand limits, noise standards, restrictions on facility size and additional protections for neighborhoods and natural resources.
Economic development officials explained that while massive hyperscale data centers require hundreds of acres and significant electrical capacity, smaller digital infrastructure facilities can support manufacturing and other industrial operations.
The proposed ordinance would also regulate battery energy storage systems. Brown told officials the city has received one inquiry about a battery energy storage project but none involving a data center.
For now, city leaders say the goal is simple: establish the rules before the first proposal arrives.
The Planning Commission is expected to continue refining the ordinance before forwarding its recommendations to the City Council for final consideration.
Sherri Blevins is a reporter for 256 Today.
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