Meeting Summary

The Legislative Committee held a lengthy discussion and public hearing on a proposed ordinance (2026-0089) to regulate data centers in the parish's zoning code, an issue that had not previously been addressed and left such facilities defaulting into industrial zoning without specific rules. Parish Administrator Michael Albert and Parish President Matthew Jewell presented the draft regulations—covering zoning placement, setbacks, noise limits, and screening—and after public comment and extended council debate, the ordinance was sent forward for a vote at the full Council meeting, with several council members flagging areas they believe still need refinement.

Watch Items

• 2026-0089 — Discussion regarding code revisions as it pertains to Data Centers: This ordinance is headed to the full Council for a vote. Several unresolved concerns were raised during committee discussion that residents should watch for as the ordinance moves forward:

- Whether the ordinance adequately addresses low-frequency noise (from fans, generators, and transformers), which several speakers and Mr. Pilié argued travels much farther than the 300-foot buffer and may not be captured by a simple decibel standard. - Lack of a distinct testing standard for low-frequency sound specifically, which Ms. O'Daniels noted is not currently included. - Clarity on the definition and scope of "data center," with Ms. O'Daniels noting the council and administration appeared to have different understandings of what the ordinance is meant to regulate. - Questions about backup/emergency generator capacity being classified under M1 (light industrial) even for large facilities, if the primary power source is grid-supplied rather than on-site generation. - The enforcement mechanism — which department or entity (code enforcement, a third party, etc.) would be responsible for monitoring and penalizing violations — was raised as an open question by Ms. O'Daniels. - Whether the ordinance should specifically distinguish AI/high-performance-computing facilities from general-purpose or storage/networking data centers, a distinction raised in public comment. - Ms. Fonseca and Mr. Jewell both indicated the ordinance, like the parish's earlier solar ordinance, could be approved now and refined later; residents should watch for any follow-up amendments after adoption.