Ascension Parish is moving to establish where data centers can be built—and who must bear the costs and community impacts of bringing the power-intensive facilities online.
Proposed regulations would limit data centers and similar high-impact developments to industrially zoned property while imposing requirements governing their size, location, water use, noise, emergency response and supporting utility infrastructure. The Ascension Parish Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the draft ordinance Wednesday.
The proposal would create a new category for “high-impact development facilities” in the parish’s development code. It would cover data centers and related digital infrastructure, including artificial intelligence computing facilities, cryptocurrency or blockchain operations, server farms and high-performance computing facilities.
Such facilities would be allowed on properties zoned for heavy, medium or light industrial use. Projects could be built by right in heavy-industrial districts, while those proposed in medium- and light-industrial areas would require a conditional use permit.
The zoning commission would make a recommendation on those applications before they advance to the Ascension Parish Council for final consideration.
Facilities proposed for light- or medium-industrial property would need at least 20 contiguous acres. The ordinance also calls for roughly a half-mile separation from homes, schools, churches, hospitals and other protected uses.
Other standards would govern setbacks, screening, utilities, emergency response, cooling systems and noise.
Among the more significant operating restrictions, facilities meeting certain power thresholds would be required to use closed-loop or recirculating cooling systems. They also would be prohibited from withdrawing water from parish or municipal systems for cooling.
Developers would be responsible for the full cost of the power generation and any substation or transmission upgrades needed to serve their projects.
If a project were denied, the applicant could resubmit the proposal one year after the denial date. If approved, the developer would have one year to obtain the appropriate building permits or begin construction and 36 months from the Parish Council’s approval to complete construction, unless different conditions were included in the approval.
The ordinance comes as parish officials seek to establish a regulatory framework before potential data center projects begin moving forward. The Parish Council began the process last month.
Commissioners also will consider plans for a 68-lot residential subdivision near Gonzales.
The Farm is proposed for 23.73 acres on the north side of La. 621, east of Young Road. The property is primarily zoned for medium-intensity residential use, and the development would include 1.81 acres of dedicated park space.
According to the staff report included in the meeting’s agenda packet, the preliminary plat meets the parish’s guidelines for a major subdivision. Traffic and drainage would undergo further review during a later phase.
