The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission is considering potential regulations for future data centers in Columbia. June 4 was the commission’s first meeting on the subject, and more meetings will continue into November. The next such meeting is on June 11.
The commission will discuss everything from facade regulations, light pollution, potential noise pollution and energy constraints.
David Kunz is a city planner who’s been researching how other cities are handling AI data centers, to then report back to the commission with potential paths of action.
Kunz said Columbia’s power grid doesn’t currently have enough infrastructure to maintain a large data center.
“The six largest (energy) users that all consume over 50 megawatt-hours per day would be not even close to a high-group-scale data set," Kunz said.
Dissenters of data center construction within city limits fear that the potential data centers could harm the wellbeing of Columbia residents. Residents in other states that live near data centers report poor drinking water conditions and constant noise. One of the most vocal critics of the data centers near Columbia has been the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, an organization that represents rural Missouri residents.
The Missouri Rural Crisis Center declined an interview for this story, but said in a statement, “We're grateful our city council has halted all data center developments until Spring 2027.”
The next planning and zoning commission meeting will be held on June 11 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, where city staff members plan to present on land use and compatibility. Columbia City Council is expected to vote on possible zoning changes next year.
