Greenville’s Planning and Zoning Commission signed off on proposed changes to the city ordinance governing facilities that support cryptocurrency mining despite concerns that traditional data processing facilities may be prevented from settling in Greenville.
The commission also unanimously approved a request that Greenville City Council direct planning staff to create a definition for cryptocurrency to differentiate it from “typical web data processes.”
Planning and Zoning Commission members want language that will allow other types of data processing businesses to operate in the city while limiting the facilities supporting crypto-mining operations.
The planning commission’s vote came after nearly a dozen speakers said they opposed the City Council’s recommended changes to the ordinance that governs data processing facilities.
The speakers said cryptocurrency mining has negative effects on the environment because it requires power companies to generate more electricity and creates noise pollution.
The speakers wanted facilities supporting cryptocurrency mining banned, an action that City Attorney Emanuel McGirt has repeatedly said could lead to a lawsuit being filed against the city. He has also said state law prevents local governments from banning legal businesses and data processing facilities supporting crypto mining can legally operate in North Carolina.
The changes being sought by the City Council begin with eliminating modular data processing facilities as a permitted use. Everett explained that modular facilities are made up of containers that house banks of computer processors cooled by industrial fans. Multiple containers are usually grouped together.
When Compute North sought to locate a modular facility in Pitt County and Greenville in 2021 and 2022, the company proposed locating 89 modules in the area.
The City Council, in a split vote, approved in 2022 rules permitting modular facilities to operate in the community along with data processing centers, which have equipment contained within traditional buildings. A few months later, Compute North filed for bankruptcy. City staff said since then no data processing company supporting cryptomining has inquired about locating in the city.
While the proposed changes would delete modular facilities, data processing centers would still be permitted with certain rule changes, Everett said.
The changes included increasing the separation from centers to schools and single-family dwellings from 2,500 feet to 3,400 feet; limiting hours of operation to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and barring sound over 30 decibels as measured from the property line. The proposed rules also would require a sound study to be completed.
Commission members asked Everett to show where centers could be located under the current rules versus where they could be located under the proposed rules.
The centers could be located in all areas with industrial zoning, Everett said. While most are located north of the Tar River, a few could be found near Allen Road.
Under the proposed rules, only a few parcels of property in and around Indigreen Corporate Park are possible locations, based on a map Everett showed the commission.
Molly Holdeman, one of the organizers of a protest that successfully kept Compute North from locating near Belvoir Elementary School, said despite the 900-foot increase in distance, a proposed crypto site would still be less than a mile from Wellcome Middle School. It would also be near industries such as Hyster-Yale, whose workers shouldn’t be subjected to the noise from the processing units and the fans that cool them.
State laws give local governments the authority to adopt land development regulations and ordinances to promote the health, safety and general welfare of its residents, Holdeman said.
“It may be illegal to ban a legal business, it is not illegal to ban something that harms the public and the environment,” Holdeman said. “There has to be a statute that allows a municipality to fix a mistake. It’s the city attorney’s job to find it.”
After a staff presentation and citizen input, commission member Kevin Faison said he believes the problem with the current ordinance is a lack of distinction between cryptocurrency mining and other forms of data processing.
“In my personal opinion, changing this rule with data processing could be a hindrance in the city in the future,” Faison said. He recognizes cryptomining has problems and “there is always going to be problems with growth but some are greater than others.
“I feel like we should leave the current statute as it is but we would define what crypto mining is and use the new (rules) to apply to crypto mining specifically.”
Assistant City Manager Dene Alexander said there are uses in city ordinances governing other types of data processing work. Changing the ordinance governing data processing centers and modular facilities won’t affect those other operations, she said.
As planning commission members asked for details about the city’s existing rules, Planning and Development Services Director Les Everett said his office would have to review the rules to see if they would allow operations such as Amazon web services or Google cloud services.
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