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PaperclipPerfector  11hr ago (text post)   445 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 20, 2026

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Clarification: The current IBC can "handle" data centers under any of the three occupancies listed above. The problem is that data centers are not specifically listed as an example under any of those occupancies, so a builder may run into problems if he thinks that they fall under one occupancy but the municipal code official thinks they fall under a different occupancy.

It is my understanding that similar problems have been noted in many local zoning ordinances (not based on ICC codes—the IZC is nowhere near as popular as the IRC and IBC): data centers are allowed in business zones, or even in residential zones, but because the new extra-power-hungry versions with loud fans are not specifically addressed the municipal code official is forced to allow them in business and residential zones even though loud uses should have been shunted off to industrial zones.

Thanks for the clarification. I'd be curious if there is anything that I would consider a datacenter that is located in a business zone instead of an industrial zone. In my mind, a "server room" doesn't become a "data center" until you start measuring the size in acres.

I suspect this whole effort is basically just Europeans catching up to how Americans already do things in practice. (That's my general uncharitable impression of most standards organizations that start with "International".)

I'd be curious if there is anything that I would consider a datacenter that is located in a business zone instead of an industrial zone. In my mind, a "server room" doesn't become a "data center" until you start measuring the size in acres.

The first result on Google for "data center noise complaints" turns up this location. It's in an "industrial/business" zone (1 2), but right on the edge. I guess the residents just want a bigger buffer between industries and their houses. (Or maybe they're just unreasonable NIMBYs who should have known what they were getting into when they bought a house immediately adjacent to an industrial zone.)

I suspect this whole effort is basically just Europeans catching up to how Americans already do things in practice. (That's my general uncharitable impression of most standards organizations that start with "International".)

No, ICC is a firmly USAian organization. I mentioned in my previous code-related comment that ICC recently rejected a proposal to add some European standards as alternatives to equivalent American standards.

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