Elected officials from Perryville and Perry County hosted a presentation on the recently updated ordinance on Data Centers that was originally adopted in February.
Comments were made by city administrator Brent Buerck, county clerk Jared Kutz, city attorney Art Pistorio and Mayor Larry Riney.
Kutz provided comments from the county perspective, explaining how the county cannot do much to regulate data centers outside of city limits as the county does not have a planning and zoning commission, and the process to have one in a rural county is long and difficult.
Along with the difficult process of starting the commission, Kutz warned that such a commission could interfere with personal property rights in unincorporated parts of the county.
“First, it would have to be approved by the place before and approved by voters,” Kutz said. “And if approved, a planning and zoning commission would have to be established and appointed by the county commission. That planning and the zoning commission would then establish regulations on land use and control what types of buildings or activities are allowed on specific parcels of land. They would establish a whole new level of county government. It’s tasked primarily with regulating what you can do on your own personal property. Charging fees from permits and financially penalizing you for doing what you know is best on your property even if it does not meet the rules and regulations they create.”
Kutz also spoke about the controversy inherent with data center regulations and conversations about them.
“I want you to know your local leaders are and will continue to approach the data center issue with skepticism and caution you are asking them to,” Kutz said “It is absolutely rational and completely reasonable to fear change. And uncertainty at a time in our world’s history that could possibly be the start of the next industrial revolution. In fact, I believe it is irrational to approach such an important topic in any other way.”
City administrator Brent Buerck, who has done most of the speaking on behalf of the board at public meetings, presented the most current version of the ordinance in detail, highlighting the most recent additions which include requiring a lighting plan, storm water pollution and prevention plan, environmental impact assessment, a written letter of support from PCSD #32 School Board, sewage treatment, fire protection, and the requirement to be at least 500 feet from any residential structure, childcare, or work centers for developmentally disabled (in addition to being only located in the industrial park).
He then presented the attendees of the meeting with aerial shots of the industrial park and the small plots of land a potential data center could be built on. He said that because the plots chosen are so small, it was unlikely that one of the controversial large-scale data centers that produce generative AI could be built.
Buerck also highlighted some recent changes that have made the ordinance more restrictive. If an application from a prospective data center is denied, they can not resubmit another application for 24 months. Language was added that legally prevents a developer from appealing a denial from the board of aldermen in court.
Following a detailed explanation of how the sound would be regulated and measured by city attorney Art Pistorio, Buerck concluded his portion of the presentation by talking about what he believed some of the potential positive impacts of building a small-scale data center in the city industrial center could be. Buerck said that these were his opinions and did not necessarily reflect every board member’s thoughts, but that it does reflect how they collectively approach the issue.
He said that a small-scale data center could bring a small number of high paying jobs, as well as a large number of jobs in construction, contracting, and upkeep of the buildings. He said he believes that the continued construction of data centers is inevitable and must be built somewhere, and that in his opinion, Perryville could benefit from this.
“This is the economy, the future, whether we like it or not. This is where the world’s going,” Buerck said. “...Closing the door locally doesn’t eliminate the data center or potential impacts. It just ensures that your community will not get the benefit from it.”
He said he believes the economic impact could also greatly benefit the local school system, and that investing in new technology can boost other industries locally as well and lead to overall growth of the city.
“Technology attracts technology, new business attracts new business,” Buerck said. ‘People want to invest in places that are investing in themselves and places that are growing. There’s an argument that we could do this and we could see other things that follow.”
Buerck and Kutz both said that with the rapid growth of the industry, national security is an important consideration. Both argued that having data centers that are going to be built somewhere regardless are safer in the United States than overseas.
Mayor Larry Riney closed the presentation, thanking the attendees of the meeting for showing up to become informed on the important issue, and urging them to attend board meetings where the ordinance is continually being updated.
“As it is, we will probably have a second reading of this ordinance September 1st,” Riney said. “That does not mean that everything that is in this ordinance is set in stone. At the end of almost every ordinance, there’s a sentence. And that sentence says, unless deemed otherwise by the board. And that means that you people can get a hold of your alderman and get some things changed if you simply feel that’s in the best interest of the community. And that’s what we’re all here to do. We’re here to help ourselves to improve the city of Perryville.”
The meeting concluded with a 45 minute session where citizens were invited to talk directly to local officials and bring up their concerns and questions.
