LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council held a special Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday to hear extensive public comment on proposed zoning regulations governing data center development, with residents raising concerns about noise, energy consumption, water use and the threat to local industrial space.

The meeting, which took place at the Government Center with overflow seating in the mezzanine, allowed speakers up to three minutes each to weigh in on a zoning ordinance text amendment developed by the Planning Commission. Patrick Mason, chair of the Environmental Commission's Policy Development Committee, urged council to maintain strict thresholds recommended by planners, including a 25-megawatt power consumption cap for smaller facilities and a 40,000-square-foot size limit.

"Regulating data centers by square footage alone completely misses the point," Mason told council. "Their real impact is their massive electrical demand." He noted that a 25-megawatt data center draws the continuous power of roughly 20,000 homes, making the threshold consistent with standards being adopted from Pennsylvania to Ohio.

Aaron Petrie, a former Amazon Web Services sustainability employee, praised the Planning Commission's science-based approach but recommended additional safeguards. He called for aggregate megawatt caps tied to utility guarantees, a ban on expansion loopholes, and stronger language in the ordinance shifting requirements from "should" to "shall." Petrie also urged council to extend the current moratorium through May 2027 rather than allowing it to expire October 31.

The council ultimately voted to move forward with zoning language that would bar large hyperscale data centers and place new restrictions on smaller facilities, while directing the Planning Commission to develop a dedicated zoning category for data centers and extending the moratorium through October 2027.

The proposed rules would prohibit major data centers larger than 50,000 square feet and restrict minor facilities to certain warehouse and industrial zones, requiring conditional use permits and plans addressing noise, water conservation and energy impacts. "I have heard from my constituents on this issue more than any other issue in my time on council," Councilmember Emma Curtis said.