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Compute North is working with Greenville officials to locate a data mining facility in the community after intense opposition from residents in the Belvoir area forced the company to give up its plans to locate a facility there.

The Greenville Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously at its Tuesday meeting to recommend changes to the city code that would permit modular data processing facility and data processing center as two separate uses in the city. The changes also set standards and zoning districts where the facilities could be located.

The recommendation now goes to Greenville City Council for final approval.

Kristyan Mjolsnes, Compute North vice president of marketing, confirmed Friday that the company was still looking for possible locations in the Greenville-Pitt County area.

As we shared and committed at the last (Pitt County) commissioners meeting, we are focusing on locations that are zoned industrial, Mjolsnes said. The size/scale of the facility is expected to be similar, however, that will be finalized as we work towards a preferred site and related development approvals.

There was no discussion during Tuesdays meeting about where Compute North might locate.

Compute North was not discussed by name during Tuesdays meeting, but two company officials, Jeff Jackson, vice president for development and Patty Varra, site development manager, were presented as subject matter experts.

Are we getting ready to learn about data mining? commission chairman Kevin Faison asked when Chief Planner Chantae Gooby began her presentation.

Yes you are. I feel like youve done a lot of my work for me, Gooby said. "This is a relatively new use. Weve had to add this to our ordinance and in the process educate ourselves about it.

Data processing centers are defined as a large group of computer systems and accessory components housed in a building. The equipment is used for remote storage, processing or distribution of large amounts of data.

A data processing facility is a space, which can be inside or outside a building, where modular structures house large groups of computer systems and accessory components. The modular structures are typically cooled with a collection of fans built into each unit.

Modular data processing facilities are an intensive land use because its rows of modular structures will have fans and possibly generators operating, Gooby said.

Gooby said the fans are on the outside of the modular data processing facility some may have generators depending on the type of facility it is.

The proposed new rules will state that equipment and structures shall not exceed 35 feet and all equipment and structures must be 100-feet from the property line. All wiring has to be located underground, Gooby said.

Because the site will have a utilitarian look, larger vegetative buffer yards are required to cut down on the visual aspects. If a facility is near a residential, multifamily classification , there will be a 50-foot wide buffer yard and, for every 100 linear feet, eight large evergreens, 10 small evergreens and 36 small shrubs will be required.

While Greenville has a noise ordinance within its city limits, its industrial park is located outside the city limits so its noise ordinance would not apply there, Gooby said.

The proposed new rules would apply the citys noise ordinance of below 65 decibels near residential property and below 75 decibels near industrial property to modular data processing facilities, Gooby said

Sound walls can be used to reduce sound levels.

Since data processing centers are contained in buildings, its land use classification isnt as intensive. That use can be permitted in various office, commercial, industrial and fixed institution districts but not in the medical districts, Gooby said.

The same noise regulations will apply to the center as the modular facilities.

Uconda Dunn, vice president of business development with the Greenville-Eastern North Carolina Alliance, urged the commission to support the recommended changes to the city code.

Its become evident that the tech sector is an open and available market for Greenville, Dunn said. As we continue to work to diversify our industrial base it has become apparent to us that we need to address this ordinance to reflect sectors that we see are growing and are opportunities to attract to our local community.

A couple of commission members asked staff if any other municipalities in eastern North Carolina had data processing facilities and what their rules were.

Gooby said she knew of no North Carolina communities with data processing facilities so planning staff researched communities across the United States, including Kearny, Nebraska, where Compute North has a facility similar to the one it wanted to build in Belvoir.

There is no uniformity in the standards, Gooby said, because the industry is new.

Faison asked how many jobs would be generated by a data processing facility and what would its tax base be.

Jackson, the Compute North vice president, said the company expects to invest $55 million in the project and hire 15 people. Jackson said the company hasnt calculated its new tax revenue projections.

Last fall Compute North sought a special use permit to open data processing facility with 89 containers cooled by more than 1,000 fans near Belvoir Elementary School. The company faced fierce opposition from parents who believed noise from the fans would disturb students and from activists upset that the company did little outreach to the areas majority African-American and Hispanic residents.

Other individuals worried about the sites environmental impact because it requires large quantities of electricity. There were also concerns the site could drive up electric rates as a facility in New York state did in one community.

Greenville Utilities Commission officials said there is sufficient electric resources to supply Compute North.

When asked Thursday if GUC was continuing to work with Compute North to locate in the area, General Manager and CEO Tony Cannon said, Due to the competitive nature of business and industrial recruitment, we do not discuss any details, including the identity, of a potential business or industry, unless or until there is a public announcement regarding the same or the matter comes up for approval in a public bodys open session.

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Greenville planning board recommends city code changes that will permit cryptomining operations - Greenville Daily Reflector