Foley has enacted a six-month moratorium on data centers and similar facilities while the city studies their potential impacts and prepares regulations to address future proposals.
The Foley City Council voted Tuesday, Sept. 8, to approve the final reading of an ordinance establishing the temporary moratorium. The ordinance is now in effect for six months.
The moratorium restricts the acceptance, processing, approval and consideration of applications for data centers, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining facilities, server farms and similar technically oriented uses, facilities and operations.
Mayor Ralph Hellmich said no data centers have been proposed in the Foley area. The moratorium will give city officials time to review existing regulations and develop appropriate guidelines should an application be submitted in the future.
“This way we can review all of our regulations, environmental, zoning, and make sure everything coordinates so that if, in the future, any of one of these types of industries come to us, we’re prepared,” Hellmich said. “We want to have the answers if they show up, so that all the right questions are asked.”
“We want to make sure that our city has all the questions answered before anybody shows up,” he added.
Hellmich said Foley’s city-owned utility provider, Riviera Utilities, also has requirements that would affect any data center proposed in the area.
“We’re in a unique position. Foley owns Riviera Utilities, which already has protections built in. The big three things are water use, noise and electrical use that punishes current customers. Riviera has already put a policy into place that will not allow a data center to put the burden onto existing customers. If a data center comes, they have to bring the power with them.”
The mayor said he does not believe South Baldwin County is likely to be considered as a data center site, but city officials want to be prepared for any possibility.
The six-month moratorium will give city staff time to review and update regulations, including zoning ordinances and technical design manuals currently used to regulate traditional development. The review will focus on potential impacts associated with data centers, including water and electrical demand, air pollution and noise.
During the moratorium, staff will continue studying how communities in Alabama and other parts of the country have addressed data centers and similar facilities, including both the positive and negative impacts of these uses.
The city will also work with Riviera Utilities to evaluate water and power usage and anticipated megawatt thresholds.
The city does not intend to restrict the legal use of private property. However, before Foley officials consider proposals for facilities such as data centers, the city wants appropriate regulations in place to protect the community and environment from potential impacts.
Foley is one of the fastest-growing communities in the United States. As the city develops, officials continue working to meet the needs of an increasing population while preserving the qualities that make Foley desirable to both new and longtime residents.
Zoning and other municipal regulations are among the tools the city uses to balance those goals. The temporary moratorium will provide time to study the potential effects of data centers and similar facilities and determine how Foley’s regulations should address those impacts if such a development is proposed in the future.