That ordinance was approved in early February by the county’s local planning commission. It would pave the way for a 2,000-acre data center proposed to be built in the area by an undisclosed company.
The final version of the ordinance added restrictions that would set centers 750 feet away from residential areas, or community spaces like libraries. It also limits noise from data centers to 50 decibels at any time of the day, and would limit the construction of any data center to daytime hours.
Mason County officials have touted the data center as an economic engine that could bring more jobs and opportunity. They say the proposal would include 400 full-time jobs and thousands of construction jobs.
“We have this battle between rural and urban areas across Kentucky for the last 20 years, and rural Kentucky is losing them because we don't have the opportunities here that a Louisville, a northern Kentucky, an Indianapolis, a Cincinnati does have,” Mason County Judge Executive Owen McNeill said.
But the proposal has seen significant pushback from residents, who say the center would encroach on the area’s prime farmland. They also expressed environmental concerns and are worried about the strain on local water systems and the power grid.
“At some point you're going to have to look at it and say you cannot eat data, and you have to have some way to raise food for people. We cannot become dependent on importing all of our food,” said Janet Garrison, who is the treasurer for We Are Mason County Ky., a local grassroots organization created in opposition to the proposal.
The court’s approval puts the next step in the hands of the company behind the data center. The company’s identity will remain undisclosed until the development is approved and it decides to move in.
Garrison said if the project comes to fruition, she wants the county to leverage the company to benefit her community as much as possible.
“They're going to need to help the small businesses,” Garrison said. “They're going to need to help with environmental concerns… they're going to need to be a good neighbor. They're going to need to abide by these noise regulations. There are 115 families that are going to be living within a half mile of this thing.”
