Supervisors Unanimously Approve 12-Month Data Center Moratorium After Public Hearing

Your community has a story to tell. Help us keep telling it. DECORAH — The Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a 12-month moratorium on data center development following a public hearing in which residents, Planning and Zoning Commission members and county officials raised questions about electricity, water, noise, emergency response, waste, land use and potential changes in state law. The moratorium took effect upon passage of the resolution. It temporarily stops rezoning for data center development and the issuance of permits to construct data centers while the county conducts a land-use planning study and considers possible changes to its zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan. The resolution allows the Board of Supervisors to end the moratorium before the 12-month period expires if the planning study is completed and the issues identified by the board have been satisfactorily addressed. The board may also extend the moratorium if the study is not completed within the initial 12-month period. The public hearing followed a unanimous recommendation for approval from the county's Planning and Zoning Commission. Wendy Stevens, chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission, told supervisors the commission held its own public hearing Sept. 8. She said about 40 people attended, with 36 attending in person and four participating virtually. Of the 36 people who indicated a position on a 12-month moratorium, Stevens said 35 supported it, while one person favored a permanent ban instead. Stevens said the three-member data center subcommittee, which includes Stevens, Mary Hoffman and Donna Rasmusson, had been meeting weekly to work on potential ordinance requirements and learn more about data centers. Stevens outlined four primary reasons the Planning and Zoning Commission was seeking the moratorium. The first involved the county's existing M-2 industrial zoning. Stevens said the county has several areas zoned M-2, most of them relatively small and scattered throughout the county. She pointed to an approximately 80-acre industrial parcel south of Decorah, saying about 40 acres were currently being used and the remaining acreage could potentially be sold to a developer. She said existing M-2 regulations provide some requirements but do not address the issues the commission believes need to be considered for data centers. "We need to have regulations that regard energy use, water use, noise, and a whole list of other things," Stevens said. She described the existing M-2 zoning as a "starting point" but said the commission wanted additional time to develop what she called "guardrails, rules, and regulations" for data center development. One potential requirement discussed by Stevens was an emergency response plan. She said the commission was considering requiring data centers to coordinate emergency plans with the county emergency management coordinator, Decorah Fire Department, public health officials and other first responders. Stevens also said the commission wanted to coordinate with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, County Engineer Michael Kueny and other area agencies before finalizing regulations. She cited Linn County as an example of why the commission wanted to study potential impacts before adopting an ordinance. Stevens said two large data center campuses were being developed there and that county officials had told her the projects were contributing to an increase of about 20,000 tons of material going to the landfill each year. Stevens said, based on what she had learned about Linn County, some materials that could otherwise be recycled, including lumber, metal and cardboard, were being sent to the landfill. She said the county was therefore considering how to address waste in its own ordinance and would need to coordinate with the appropriate solid waste agencies. Another reason for the moratorium involved potential state legislation. Stevens said the Iowa Legislature had done little that year to address data centers and that the commission expected data center development to become a significant legislative issue in 2027. She said the commission wanted the moratorium to extend beyond the 2027 legislative session so any state requirements could be incorporated into the county's local regulations. "We're still learning," Stevens said. "We're going to keep learning." She said the commission did not want to complete a county ordinance only to have to revise it soon afterward because of new state requirements. The discussion also raised questions about the limits of county zoning authority. Stevens told supervisors the county's moratorium would apply to areas under county jurisdiction and would not regulate land inside incorporated communities that have their own zoning authority. Supervisors discussed the possibility of data center development in smaller incorporated communities that do not have comprehensive zoning ordinances and what legal tools those communities might have available to regulate development. County Attorney Andy Van Der Maaten was asked whether a community without its own zoning ordinance could simply adopt the county's eventual data center regulations. He said he did not want to speculate about the legal options without further consideration. Participants also raised concerns about possible lawsuits and the possibility that state legislation could eventually establish statewide requirements. The hearing also included discussion about annexation. Supervisor Steve Kelsay said large data centers in other parts of the country had sought annexation into smaller communities, which could shift jurisdiction over the development from a county to a city. Kelsay cited a 200-acre site in Northern Virginia as an example and said there were "a lot of different nuances" that would need to be studied. Kelsay also said a MiEnergy district representative had previously told county officials there could be about 10 megawatts of surplus power available in the Decorah area. He said the county needed more information about what local communities and utilities were seeing and planning. Public comments during the hearing were largely supportive of taking additional time to study the issue. Bill Deutsch told supervisors data centers were not going away and that the county should use the moratorium period to determine what it needs to know. "A year from now, there will still be discussion and issues about data centers," Deutsch said. He said the county needed time to determine what approach it should take and urged supervisors to support the moratorium. Warren Jensen discussed regulations he said he had encountered at a data center in Kearney, Nebraska. Jensen told supervisors the Kearney facility had been required to have a 55-foot concrete wall around equipment areas because of noise. He also said the developer had been required to provide $5 million for the community's fire department and rescue services, specialized equipment and training. During the discussion, Jensen clarified that the 55-foot wall was around equipment areas rather than the entire data center. Jensen encouraged the county's data center subcommittee to contact communities with existing data centers and gather information about requirements those communities have imposed. Other speakers raised broader questions about the purpose and potential effects of data centers. Mary Lewis said that in addition to questions about siting, energy costs and environmental impacts, the county should consider why the facilities are being built. Lewis said artificial intelligence was a major driver of data center development and questioned whether communities should first consider whether that development was necessary. She said AI was developing rapidly and that questions about its risks had not yet been resolved. Lewis said she would have preferred a ban but supported having a period in which the county could discuss the issues. Kristin Eggen, director of Winneshiek Energy District, also supported the moratorium. Eggen said data centers often bring their own diesel generators to help meet power demand but said questions remained about the availability of electrical power and transmission capacity in Winneshiek County. Kevin Lee of Freeport said he believed the area near Freeport could be a potential location for data center development. He said he lives near the industrial park and residents already experience excessive noise from existing industrial activity. Lee also raised broader concerns about artificial intelligence and its potential effects on society and government. The hearing included discussion of water use and the changing size and technology of data centers. Kelsay said data centers vary significantly in size and technology and said the county should not assume every project would resemble the largest facilities being discussed nationally. He said he had researched companies working on projects ranging from roughly 3 megawatts to 20 megawatts, which vary considerably in size. Kelsay also said technology for cooling data centers is changing and the county should consider those differences when developing regulations. Planning and Zoning Administrator Tony Phillips noted that the county had not received any data center development inquiries from prospective developers. The lack of an active development proposal was part of the context for the county's decision to study the issue before a specific project comes forward. After public comments, supervisors discussed the scope and timing of the moratorium. Supervisor Shirley Vermace said the issue involved many "moving parts" and that the county needed time to develop an ordinance while considering what other municipalities might do. Vermace asked those attending the hearing to raise their hands if they supported a moratorium. All but one person raised a hand. She then broadened the question to include those supporting either a moratorium or a ban, prompting the remaining attendee to raise a hand. Officials reiterated that the moratorium applies to rural areas under county jurisdiction and that Decorah and other incorporated communities would have to address data centers within their own jurisdictions. The board discussed the possibility of extending or shortening the moratorium depending on how quickly the county's study progresses and what happens at the state level. Van Der Maaten confirmed that the resolution gives the board the ability to extend the moratorium if additional time is needed. The resolution states that the county recognizes public interest in the possibility of data center construction and that additional time is needed to monitor and evaluate state and federal legislation, regulations and policies that could affect the permitting, construction, operation and regulation of data centers. It authorizes a land-use planning study to review the county's zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan and determine whether changes are needed to address potential impacts on public health, safety and general welfare. The board voted unanimously to approve the moratorium. Before the public hearing closed, Kelsay requested that the Planning and Zoning Commission provide quarterly progress reports during the moratorium. He said the reports would allow the public to see the direction of the county's work rather than waiting until the end of the 12-month period for an update. From breaking news to community stories, get the latest in your inbox.