The Honorable A. Manning Lynch                                                                                                      

Chairman, Spartanburg County Council       

366 N. Church Street, Suite 1000

Spartanburg, SC 2930

Dear Chairman Lynch and Members of Spartanburg County Council,

I am writing on behalf of SpartansFirst to share the attached article, “Regulating Data Center Noise: An Opportunity for Spartanburg County to Lead,” which examines the acoustic provisions of the proposed NorthMark/Valara development agreement considered by County Council on October 22, 2026.

Our purpose is to contribute constructively to the Council's consideration of this agreement and to encourage Spartanburg County to become a leader in developing practical, technically sound regulations for this important new category of infrastructure.

SpartansFirst supports the responsible development of data centers and recognizes the substantial economic and technological opportunities they represent for Spartanburg County and South Carolina. We also believe that protecting neighboring communities through measurable operating standards, appropriate monitoring, public transparency, and effective corrective-action procedures is essential to restoring public confidence and realizing those opportunities.

Earlier this year, SpartansFirst conducted extensive research and published a proposed Comprehensive Data Center Ordinance on June 16, followed by a revised proposal on June 27. We invited everyone to evaluate our recommendations and suggest improvements. We intended to stimulate informed discussion and provide a framework that technical expertise and practical experience could improve.

The attached article builds upon that work by comparing the acoustic provisions of the proposed NorthMark agreement with regulatory approaches adopted or proposed in communities across the United States, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina.

The comparison identifies several practices worthy of consideration, including post-construction verification of acoustic modeling, measurement of low-frequency sound, nighttime residential noise evaluation, periodic monitoring as equipment ages, public reporting of acoustic performance, and defined corrective-action procedures.

The proposed NorthMark agreement already establishes several important protections. It incorporates county noise standards, requires a noise study, provides for maintenance of acoustic mitigation equipment, and recognizes enforcement authority. Our article identifies opportunities to strengthen those provisions through practical methods already being developed elsewhere.

One particularly useful improvement would be a standard process for making supporting technical studies available to the public sufficiently in advance of Council consideration. We suggest that a comprehensive ordinance, applying to future projects, could establish a reasonable disclosure period, such as 30 days before the first public hearing, so that citizens, engineers, developers, and public officials have an opportunity to examine the information and contribute meaningful recommendations.

The NorthMark agreement references a noise study that the county has reviewed and accepted. Making that study, its measurement methodology, and its conclusions publicly available would be particularly helpful to understanding the proposed acoustic requirements.

We recognize that the county must balance technical requirements, administrative resources, development costs, and the protection of surrounding properties. We are not advocating additional restrictions simply for the sake of regulation. We are advocating standards that are measurable, practical, meaningful, and enforceable.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss these recommendations with Council members, county management, and the Planning and Development staff. We would also appreciate learning where the county believes our proposed approach could be improved.

Our larger objective is to help establish a framework that makes additional responsible data center development possible throughout South Carolina, using experience, engineering evidence, and transparent operating performance to protect communities while encouraging investment.

I respectfully request that this letter and the attached article be distributed to all members of County Council and the appropriate county management and technical staff for consideration during the remaining review of the NorthMark development agreement.

Thank you for your service to Spartanburg County and for considering these recommendations.

We hope this work will contribute to a productive discussion and to a regulatory approach that other communities may eventually look to as an example of responsible technological leadership.

Sincerely, 

Dennis C. Hayes 
Chairman 
SpartansFirst 
https://spartansfirst.org