Data centers are proliferating in rural areas across the United States to support the rapidly developing artificial intelligence (AI) industry. And proposals to construct them in Southeast Alaska have recently cropped up in Wrangell and Petersburg.
While there aren’t any public proposals to build data centers in Sitka yet, city code does not currently include language to address them. So the Sustainability Commission and city staff have proposed updating the city’s zoning code to define and regulate the facilities at the local level.
At a Planning Commission meeting on October 21, Sustainability Commission Chair Aurora Taylor said they wanted to get ahead of it.
“We are really hoping to establish a pathway for local regulation and local input, so that we don’t end up in a situation where private developers have just built a data center slipped through the cracks because our zoning and general code does not have a clear definition,” Taylor said. “So this is the Sustainability Commission trying to get ahead of these concerns, given, especially in Sitka with hydroelectric, how water use and energy are so interconnected.”
The proposed amendment would allow data center construction only with a conditional use permit. That would make any new proposal for a data center subject to community review, and would require Planning Commission approval.
But at the public hearing, many Sitkans urged the Planning Commission to instead recommend that the local assembly ban them outright. Lisa Sadlier-Hart urged the commission to drop the conditional use section in favor of prohibition.
“They require a tremendous amount of energy. We have a limited amount of energy, and we need to really direct it towards what matters most, and this, to me, doesn’t matter most. We also know that they increase noise pollution horrifically, as well as air pollution, and my other concern is water,” she said. “So I don’t think this is at all a good fit for our community, and I think it would take away from the quality of life that’s in this community, and we need to say no. We need to say it loud, and we need to say it now.”
Around a dozen Sitkans shared similar sentiments, with concerns about energy and water use, the cost to residents, and the potential impacts to quality of life.
A handful spoke about the potential benefits of data centers and a willingness to be open to the possibilities. Dmitry Rudas discouraged the commission from banning data centers when there are many different uses and applications– he felt those sized to Sitka’s electric loads should be considered.
“The dose makes the poison right? There is a major difference between like a one kilowatt home lab that somebody’s running, which by that definition would still fit the data center aspect of it, You know, between a one megawatt data center and a one gigawatt hyper center, a hyperscaler data center, right?” Rudas said. “The the size makes a huge difference, and that’s why I think we have to be careful about verbiage like banning everything outright, just in name only.”
For the most part, planning commissioners shared the community’s concerns. Margaret Frank said there are still too many unknowns, and was in favor of prohibiting data centers outright, rather than allowing them to be considered under the conditional use process.
“Because I think, in line with our comprehensive plan, we’ve been prioritizing building housing on land. That’s limited buildable land, and we should avoid sacrificing opportunities to address our housing needs in favor of the data centers,” Frank said.
Commissioner Jacquie Foss said she wasn’t opposed to allowing data centers through a conditional use permit, but until they have defined the parameters for the permits, like energy consumption or impacts to air quality, she said they should press pause.
“I see conditional uses as an opportunity to allow things that may be beneficial to the town of Sitka while denying things that don’t have that same benefit, and I think for things like data center(s), there might be places where there’s they can be a benefit for the community,” Foss said. “But at this time, I don’t know how to address those conditions to ensure that at least we have an idea of it.”
Ultimately the Planning Commission unanimously agreed to recommend defining data centers in city code and prohibiting them in all zones. The commission’s recommendation will go to the Sitka Assembly for consideration at a future meeting.
