I believe just about all land in this country is zoned by now. So the key would be to not allow land zoned as ag land to be rezoned to commercial / industrial / whatever Data Centers are technically zoned.
Are you for or against Data Centers?
- Thread starter ZZman
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CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Boards do what boards do and they tend to sleep with the developers.
I can't speak for all others, but in the case of the massive AI data center that is being considered in the Northwestern Utah desert, there is no zoning for the ranch land that the data center may go on. Thus the county commissioners had no grounds to deny the proposal.
Wind Turbines make the countryside view unattractive, they kill birds, take like oodles of lubricant and never will break even cost wise and if it breaks/shatters the fiberglass makes the ground unfarmable.
Indeed. And, the data center developers are their job pipeline after their BOCS job is up (ie. voted out). Supervisors know the process and the people, so they make big money in the private sector.
I would note there is a tactic to the land buyup process. This outlines it pretty well:
https://www.princewilliamtimes.com/...cle_982ca8f3-ec78-46f2-a790-dd29f89343ca.html
I bet those houses right up next to the centers dropped $150,000++ in value, and a sliding scale in a 1+ mile radius.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Yep. Just across the river the grafters are at work. No residents want it. The traffic is already traffic jams almost 24/7. People speakout, board goes for the build anyway. Two reasons. Visible is the county officials and entrenched county employees want Tax money. Two hidden are the board and officials after office careers and, well we can't prove how someone is getting payed a county salary of $125k a year, but becomes a multimillionaire in just few years.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
And the blades are non-recyclable forever.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
And that bad neighbor some folks have ?
He will finally croak when these get liquidated - and one gets dropped off between houses
This is why we need AI and all these data centers
Automated warehousing is purpose built for a reason. Doubtful the space fits there need although I honestly don't know for sure. Is it a wide open space 45+ feet high? Maybe can retrofit. Of course now you have all the in and out traffic 24/7. No free lunch.
Its the same reason office space in the city can't be turned into apartments. The retrofit cost exceeds the cost of a new build.
I'm quite sure that these things could be repurposed as distribution centers. If you can make this work with a closed mall you could certainly do it with a closed server farm.
Problem being that these things are out in the sticks where neither Amazon nor anyone else needs a distribution facility. There is also the problem of a local road network inadequate to the traffic a distribution center would create.
Some tech works well, gets bigger and more powerful and remains an ever lasting part of everyone's lives whether they realize it or not.
Other tech lives a short life, and disappears before too many years pass.
I predict the first of those two outcomes is what we will be facing, with many, many data centers on eventually on the landscape. Time will tell the story.
Other tech lives a short life, and disappears before too many years pass.
I predict the first of those two outcomes is what we will be facing, with many, many data centers on eventually on the landscape. Time will tell the story.
The get sent to my child home town of Casper Wyoming and thrown in the landfill. We are a gas and oil state. If California orders turbines and they break, they need to keep them. You dont want one and I certainly dont on our land.
You have to pretty much do affordable housing for those kind of "next to mini data center" housing or "mixed used" housing.
You have homes priortizing solar panel orientation, lawn fridges being as close to each other as possible, restricted path you cannot dig between these lawn fridges for gardening, maintenance crew constantly come in to swap and repair equipments, etc. No way will these homes be worth a lot, but they do satisfy a lot of zoning's affordable housing limit requirement.
I think if they negotiate well with the local housing boards they can put the less desirable lot to use with these mixed housing and reduce the price enough to justify the development as a whole. People don't expect the best lot and best quality in affordable housing so they cut corner on curb appeal already. I think instead of retail many of them in the future may end up with data center on the lower traffic area like the middle of a cue de sac where fewer roads are needed.
So, they may look like a stone hedge garden in the middle surrounded by single family home with solar panels all facing south.
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I thought no politics on this BITOG social platform? Quoting a disturbing political statement despicable rapist and socialist militia member (post #232) who was charged with treason? Uggg. I'm not a staff member and don't make the rules so I guess it's ok for longtime members here?
I'm a new member around here. So even though I have read the rules I'm finding some double standard cases where longtime members are given a pass for free speech involving politics.
I do apologize in advance if the member did not realize the meaning or author of the meme. I would respectively ask for the disturbing post to be taken down and in return will remove this post as well.
