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A data processing center
The Hoover City Council this week approved a change to its zoning ordinance to help guard against potential negative impacts from future data centers that companies may want to build in the city.
Hoover currently doesn’t have any applications for a new data center in its city limits, but if a company hade requested a permit for one prior to Monday night’s vote, it would have gone straight to the city’s Inspection Services Department for permitting and site plan approval, City Planner Mac Martin said.
There is no zoning classification in Hoover’s zoning ordinance that specifically defines a data center use that fits most modern data centers, but the closest thing Hoover has is an “office/technical use,” Martin said.
An office/technical use is defined as an office use combined with equipment-intensive uses where 20% or more of the net usable floor area of a facility is devoted to large equipment use by administrative employees or for business process functions such as data processing and communications equipment, Martin said.
Hoover’s zoning ordinance was quite permissive of that use, making them permitted by right in the vast majority of the city’s non-residential districts, Martin said. No public hearings would have been required.
Given the concerns that city officials have heard from residents in the community about the potential impacts of data centers, Martin said it was wise to see if there is “a little bit more scrutiny we could add to the process.”
The action taken by the City Council on Monday was to make “office/technical uses” something that requires “conditional use” approval, which means any application for a data center now will have to be submitted to the Hoover Planning Commission and Hoover City Council for approval.
This will allow staff to review the concept with any applicants and advise them on the kinds of studies they need to submit to look at the potential impacts of what they’re proposing, Martin said.
Hoover Councilman Robin Schultz said this zoning change is a proactive step to make sure that Hoover doesn’t have a data center pop up in the city without proper vetting.
A Ross Bridge resident on Monday asked the council why it didn’t just put a moratorium for data centers in place, similar to what Birmingham did after a company called Nebius successfully submitted an application for an artificial intelligence factory on property that formerly was home to a Regions Bank back-office center off Lakeshore Parkway, not far from Hoover.
Martin said data centers come in many different forms and take up varying amounts of land, with greatly varying impacts. The city doesn’t want to completely prohibit new ones or expansion of existing ones, but instead give the city a tool to review each one on a case-by-case basis and thoughtfully review the impacts and consider ways to mitigate those impacts, or deny an application if it isn’t a right fit for the property in question.
Schultz said there are five data centers within two miles of the planned Nebius AI factory off Lakeshore, some of which are fairly small.
Across the country, some data centers have drawn much opposition for a variety of reasons, including disruption to the surrounding community, environmental impacts and resource consumption.
Some data centers, particularly some of those dealing with artificial intelligence, require millions of gallons of water daily for cooling, frequently straining local resources in areas where water is scarce. They also sometimes consume large amounts of electricity, raising concerns about utility rates for others in the community.
Opponents also have raised concerns about air, noise and light pollution, electronic waste and the disruption of the landscape since many artificial intelligence factories have been put in large warehouse-like structures.
Martin said Monday’s action by the City Council gives the city some protection. The city also can consider supplemental regulations related to data centers, but developing those likely would take some time. Monday’s requirement for “conditional use” approval is a good “starting point,” he said.
In other business Monday, the Hoover City Council:
- Approved an amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance pertaining to the sale of consumable hemp products in the city that lines up with a new state law and sets conditions for the location of businesses that sell such products, thereby ending a moratorium on new business licenses for such establishments
- Approved a $36,680 change order for a contract with REV Construction for improvements to the Riverchase sewer pump station No. 6, bringing the total cost of the project to $371,090.
- Approved a hazard mitigation plan for Jefferson, St. Clair, Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne and Randolph counties in conjunction with the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency
- Approved several change orders for construction of Hoover Fire Station No. 1 totaling $58,855
- Approved an agreement with Hoover Mall Limited for the city to put up a community art display at the Riverchase Galleria to help tell the story of the city. The artwork will be eight 14-foot-tall panels stretching 50 feet and will cost less than $1,000, city marketing coordinator Jamie Schor said.
- Agreed to apply for a $25,000 grant from the Jefferson County Community Services Fund to help put asphalt down on some trails at Loch Haven Park, work on bridge crossings over a creek there and make the park more accessible to handicapped people
- Agreed to accept $5,200 from the Alabama Tourism Department to help offset expenses associated with the SEC Baseball Tournament
- Agreed to provide up to $15,500 to the Miss Hoover Foundation to promote the city at the Miss America 2027 competition coming up this September. The current Miss Hoover’s Teen, Grier Feldman, who was crowned Miss Alabama’s Teen 2026 in March and will be representing Hoover at the Miss America’s Teen competition held in conjunction with Miss America.
- Approved 2026 budget amendments to: provide $500,000 for park improvements to be determined by the Hoover Parks and Recreation Board; $42,500 to create three new part-time reserve police officer positions to reduce overtime associated with the jail, schools and library security; delete two vacant positions in the Finance Department and create two assistant finance director positions, with a combined impact of $143,000 on the 2027 budget but to be offset by a reduction in auditing fees; accept two $5,000 contributions from state Rep. Leigh Hulsey’s discretionary fund for the Hoover police and fire departments; and account for $15,500 in additional revenue coming from surplus property sales
- Rezoned a single-family residence at 2333 Farley Place from an R-1 single-family residential district to a residential legacy single-family district
- Declaring a vacant house with a fallen tree down the middle of it at 2125 Tyler Lane to be a public nuisance that should be torn down
- Gave approval for a two-car metal canopy behind the Inverness Corners shopping center to allow a business to wash cars
