Stopgap zoning rules meant to hinder large data centers, protect small, local ones, get county OK
What’s next: A one-year deadline to come up with regulations covering all types of data centers. Votes scheduled Monday evening in Lafayette and West Lafayette.
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STOPGAP ZONING RULES TO HINDER LARGE DATA CENTERS, PROTECT SMALL, LOCAL ONES, GET COUNTY OK
Tippecanoe County commissioners said Monday they knew of no large-scale data centers hunting for sites, as they approved new zoning definitions that come up short of a moratorium but narrow the path to approval for the giant server warehouses popping up across the state.
The new zoning code was designed as a stopgap measure, limiting where large data centers can go. It also gives the county until Nov. 30, 2026, to come up with specific regulations in the current zoning code, which Ryan O’Gara, Area Plan Commission executive director, called antiquated and “doesn’t really speak to present day situations relative to what we’re seeing with the rapid changes in technology and the demands that these changes are bringing.”
“Get ahead of the curve,” Commissioner David Byers said ahead of a 3-0 commissioners vote. “Hopefully, we can get parameters put together.”
Lafayette and West Lafayette city councils are scheduled to consider the data center zoning question Monday evening. The Area Plan Commission unanimously recommended the proposal Oct. 15.
County planners suggested the zoning code changes late this summer, after county commissioners – facing a yearlong study into utility-scale solar regulations – had suggested looking at energy, water and land use challenges posed by data centers, too.
The county’s current zoning codes didn’t define what a data center is. Data centers would fall under a “computer programming, data processing and other computer related services” definition, O’Gara said. He said that would mean massive data centers would qualify to go in most commercial and industrial zones, meaning a developer could start building by just getting a permit without going through the public hearings and approvals that come with rezoning requests.
The zoning ordinance change approved Monday by county commissioners offers two definitions of data centers.
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