Utah County's draft data center rules: 1,000-foot home buffer and two open houses

Utah County's draft data center ordinance would generally keep data centers at least 1,000 feet from homes and residential zones, require developers to hold two evening open houses before applying, and make them post money for tearing the site down if it closes. Those provisions are in the Planning Commission's final redline of the proposal, dated Sept. 20. The County Commission has not yet voted. ^[1][2]

The rules would apply only to unincorporated Utah County. A permit could not be issued until every requirement is met. ^[1]

The draft sorts projects into five classes by power demand or floor area, from Class I (5 megawatts or 20,000 square feet or less) to Class V, above 500 megawatts or 1 million square feet. Size is measured for the whole project, including later phases, not building by building. ^[2]

For Class II and larger projects, an applicant would have to mail notice 90 to 180 days before applying to every landowner and every business or other entity operating within one mile, other affected entities, and the county commissioners. The applicant would also host at least two open houses on separate days, starting no earlier than 6 p.m. on a weekday. ^[2]

On location, a data center would have to sit on a collector or arterial road, within a mile of a high-voltage transmission corridor or substation, outside any area a city has planned to annex, and at least 1,000 feet from homes and residential zones. Buildings would need setbacks of at least 100 feet in front and 50 feet at the sides and rear. Sites that miss any of those location tests could still qualify through a new Data Center Overlay Zone, which could be applied only in mining-and-grazing and industrial zones where the county finds conditions that make up for the shortfall. ^[2]

Applicants would need an independent acoustical engineer's sound study showing daytime and nighttime baseline levels, and noise monitoring paid for by the applicant. Water use for cooling would be capped at 300,000 gallons a year, and every applicant would need a water feasibility study stamped by a licensed engineer. A project served by a public water system would also need a will-serve letter from the water provider. ^[2]

At the end of a project's life, the applicant would have to file a decommissioning plan and, before a certificate of occupancy is issued, provide a bond, letter of credit or escrow equal to the approved cost estimate. The estimate must include at least a 15 percent contingency and be updated at least every three years. Twelve straight months without operating counts as abandonment unless the county grants an extension. ^[2]

The redline is the Planning Commission's version, and the County Commission can change it. The county's page says the commission could take it up in November but that it is not yet on an agenda. The Planning Commission's Oct. 20 vote to recommend the rules, and the removal of a woman from that meeting, are covered in earlier Ledger reports. ^[1]