Brad Peters

I appreciate the citizens who have expressed concerns about data centers and their potential impact on Greene County. I have seen the petition calling for data centers to be prohibited in Greene County, and I think it is important to provide some background on what the County has already done.

This is not a new issue for the Greene County Commission.

Beginning several years ago, the County placed a moratorium on certain high-impact uses while the Planning Commission studied appropriate regulations. That work ultimately resulted in significant changes to our zoning regulations.

On March 18, 2024, the County Commission adopted new restrictions addressing data centers and cryptocurrency mining. I voted in favor of those restrictions.

Under the regulations we adopted, data centers, cryptocurrency mining facilities and similar uses are not simply permitted anywhere in the unincorporated county. They are limited to the M-2 Heavy Impact Use District and require a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals before the Planning Commission can even consider approving a site plan.

The regulations also require a minimum 200-foot setback from property lines, with the possibility of a greater setback based upon an environmental noise assessment. Before applying for a special exception, the applicant must pay for a study by a qualified third-party acoustical engineer evaluating existing and projected noise and vibration. The regulations establish standards for daytime and nighttime noise at the property line and require mitigation measures such as barriers or vibration isolation when necessary.

We specifically considered the potential effects of noise and vibration on neighboring property owners, people, livestock and wildlife when these regulations were adopted.

At that same March 2024 meeting, the Commission also significantly tightened the County's regulations on utility-scale solar development. Among other changes, utility-scale ground-mounted solar systems were removed as a permitted use in the A-1 Agricultural District and restricted to M-2 Heavy Impact areas on identified brownfield sites. In other words, the County has already demonstrated that we are willing to place substantial restrictions on emerging high-impact land uses when we believe those restrictions are necessary to protect our citizens and the character of Greene County.

I certainly understand why the rapid growth of data centers across the country has renewed concern about their potential impacts, particularly regarding electricity and water demand, noise, infrastructure and neighboring property owners. Those concerns deserve to be taken seriously.

At the same time, I believe it is important for citizens to know that Greene County has already taken proactive steps to address many of these concerns. We did not leave data centers as an unrestricted use and wait for a proposal to arrive before considering their impacts. We studied the issue and put protections in place in 2024.

That does not mean our regulations can never be revisited. Technology changes, circumstances change, and we should always be willing to examine our regulations to determine whether additional protections are warranted.

As a commissioner, however, I believe our decisions should be based on the facts, the specifics of any proposal that may come before us, the protections already contained in our zoning regulations, and the rights of all property owners involved.

I will continue to listen to the concerns of our citizens and will support changes when I believe they are necessary to protect Greene County. But I also think it is important that this discussion acknowledge the substantial steps the County has already taken.


[Note: The Change.org Civic Engagement Team reaches out to decision makers to let them know about petitions in their community and to help facilitate engagement with supporters. The above was an email response we received regarding this petition.]