Linn County officials have rescheduled the second and third readings of a new ordinance that would govern the location and design of large-scale data centers in the county’s unincorporated areas, after hearing several concerns from county residents at a public hearing Feb. 4.
The first reading of the new ordinance was approved by the board, but the second and third readings are now scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16 and Wednesday, Feb. 18 – a full week later than originally planned – after supervisors asked planning and development officials to research several potential revisions based on residents’ concerns.
Both meetings will be held at the Jean Oxley Public Service Center, and residents can attend either in person or virtually. Public comment will also be taken at both meetings.
There are currently no data centers in the county’s rural areas, and no formal application has been submitted to build a data center, but county officials say they’ve received several inquiries from potential data center developers in recent months, and Google is considering a data center site near the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Palo.
As a result, Planning and Development director Charlie Nichols said it’s important for Linn County to proactively develop a data center zoning ordinance, so county officials can have a framework of criteria to evaluate any data center proposals that are submitted.
“Currently, there is no zoning code or specific standards for data centers in Linn County,” Mr. Nichols said. “What that means is there’s no decision-making criteria for the Board of Supervisors to use to say yes or no to data centers. So what we are doing now is proposing some code that would give the supervisors a framework for evaluating data center project proposals.”
The new ordinance would create an exclusive-use zoning district for data centers, similar to the county’s new zoning ordinance for nuclear energy generating facilities, approved by the county in September.
The new data center ordinance specifies rules for considering data center zoning applications. The rules cover a variety of zoning considerations, including building setbacks, noise limits, traffic and road impacts, emergency planning, and site plan review.
The ordinance would also incorporate other data center-related site developments, including battery energy storage systems, on-site solar arrays on site, standby or backup power generation facilities, substations, micro grids, water treatment and maintenance or support facilities.
According to the proposed ordinance, a zoning application for a large-scale data center will be required to include a legal description of the site, a major site plan and a general description of the project, including a proposed construction timeline.
Additional information will then be required before a building permit is issued, Mr. Nichols said, including the planned location of underground and overhead electric lines, interconnection points, project entrances, written verification of capacity from the project’s proposed power provider, structural requirements, stormwater management plans, water pollution prevention plans, and erosion and sediment control.
The ordinance will also require development setbacks of 200 feet from neighboring property lines and 1,000 feet from public places of assembly or residentially-zoned property.
Mr. Nichols noted that the ordinance also included a section on “confidentiality and open records compliance.”
“This is something that we don’t typically do, but confidentiality and open records has been a sticking point for a lot of communities and data center projects around the country, particularly when it comes to reporting water usage,” he said. “Water usage is considered a trade secret by data center developers. The reasoning there is they feel that competitors can back into the design of how the facilities are laid out based on the amount of water they use. We have different interpretations about that at the staff level, and we will be asking them for water usage data.”
If a developer feels that information should remain confidential, Mr. Nichols said, they will need to explain “why that information qualifies for an exemption for Iowa open records law. So we’re saying up front that if you want certain information to be kept private and not part of the public process, you need to justify that.”
To address water usage concerns, the ordinance will require a pre-rezoning water study, proving that there is sufficient water available for the project and its impact on existing water users. It will also mandate a water use agreement with Linn County before any construction work can begin.
An economic development agreement will also be required, explaining how the developer and county will work together, any possible economic incentives, and how a developer will “give back to the community.” The developer will also be required to create a Community Betterment Fund, similar to those created for the Cedar Rapids data centers, to support public infrastructure, services, environmental protection, workforce developments or other community priorities.
Other sections address noise generation, light emission, impacts on public infrastructure and road use agreements.
Mr. Nichols also said the ordinance is designed to address “lessons learned,” both from previous county development ordinances (solar energy, for example) and from other jurisdictions as they addressed data center projects.
Those topics, he said, including the use classification of data centers, the long-term phased development of data center projects, noise regulations, environmental impacts, electrical power needs and water usage.
“The purpose and intent of this ordinance is to evaluate the long-term impacts of a data center project before approval,” he said.
The ordinance is also designed to specifically address infrastructure impacts of data centers, most specifically in terms of water usage – a factor that’s become increasingly important with data center developments nationwide, since water-cooled data centers require large quantities of water to operate.
Dozens of residents expressed their views on the ordinance, and on data centers in general, during the 2 ½-hour meeting Feb. 4 at the Palo Community Center.
A number of commenters focused on the impact of data centers on the area’s water supply.
Kathy Hansen of Palo said she was particularly concerned about the impact of a potential data center on the Palo community as a whole.
“I appreciate that your group is looking at the ordinances now, trying to protect us from some of the harmful aspects of data centers,” she said. “I would encourage each of you to put the most strict guidelines you can in place regarding our water usage and the resource management of that water, the noise mitigation and the wear and tear on our roads.”
Dorothy Landt of Palo went a step further, suggesting a moratorium, or even a ban, on consideration of data centers in Linn County, noting that at least 19 states have similar policies in place.
Wally Taylor of Cedar Rapids questioned the overall effectiveness of the data center ordinance, particularly if developers were found to be noncompliant. He suggested the ordinance be further reviewed to increase its enforceability.
“Transparency is great, but if there are no teeth in the ordinance, what good is it?” Mr. Taylor asked.
As the meeting concluded, supervisors asked county development staff to research several topics for possible revisions to the ordinance, including lighting standards, decommissioning process, potential impacts on agriculture and livestock, and the impacts of data center water usage – specifically, if a data center were to cause a water shortage for existing public and private wells.
Those revisions are expected to be ready for review by the supervisors at the second and third readings of the ordinance.
