Following months of research, meetings, and public discussions, the Kirksville City Council approved new zoning regulations for data centers on Monday. The Council took this proactive step in response to public feedback and its desire to protect the community’s best interests.
These new regulations limit data center development to the City’s M-2 Heavy Industrial zoning district. Any proposed data center must also receive a Special Use Permit from the City Council to be built. Together, these requirements reduce the amount of land available for data centers and allow the Council to establish specific restrictions and conditions, particularly related to environmental impacts.
By acting proactively, the City used the authority granted to it by the State of Missouri to establish local requirements for data centers, which are otherwise allowed under state law. Through zoning, the City can regulate where a data center may locate, and through the Special Use Permit process, it can set the conditions for how the data center operates.
The Special Use Permit process will require any proposed facility to submit studies on electric grid impact, water usage and conservation, air quality, sound and vibration, infrastructure impact, and lighting. If constructed, they would also have to submit annual reports on those areas that are prepared by an independent and certified professional in the relevant field.
Other requirements to highlight:
- A data center applicant must conduct one public meeting and receive public comments.
- No data center is eligible for any City-led tax incentive.
- No data center is eligible for property tax abatement, rate freezing, or any other reduction from the full assessed property tax calculated under standard County formulas.
- If any center is found out of compliance, it has 14 days to correct the violation. There is a daily fine if the violation exceeds 14 days, and the Special Use Permit will be revoked if the violation remains uncorrected after 30 days.
- Only closed-loop cooling systems may be used.
These regulations will help protect community interests by mandating that any potential development is done responsibly.
You can view the full list of code changes on the City’s website in the agenda packet for that Council Meeting.
