Johnson County Board of Supervisors to consider data center moratorium

IOWA CITY — The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is considering adopting a one-year moratorium on approval of rezoning applications, site plans and building permits for data centers in unincorporated Johnson County.

The board will consider a resolution at its formal meeting Thursday that would put a moratorium into effect. If passed, the moratorium would expire Nov. 8, 2026.

Discussions around a moratorium arose during the county’s update of other development ordinances, such as those on auxiliary dwelling units, to comply with state code.

Members of the board have previously expressed their desire to move forward with the moratorium. The moratorium is meant to allow the board to meet with the county’s planning and zoning commission and county staff to continue to study data centers’ impact.

“Part of PDS’ concern is we want to have solid regulations in case someone were to apply to build a data center,” Josh Busard, the county’s director of Planning Development and Sustainability (PDS), said at a work session on Wednesday. “We essentially wouldn’t want to be caught flat footed and be at the will of the data center with no good regulations to protect our interests.”

The Board has expressed concerns about regulating where data centers would be allowed within the county, as well as the amount of power required to run data centers and water usage and quality.

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Other Iowa counties also are considering changes to their zoning ordinances as they relate to the development of data centers.

In June, the Clarke County Board of Supervisors approved a temporary moratorium on the construction of data centers in the county, according to reporting by the Osceola Sentinel-Tribune. In approving the moratorium, the supervisors recalled similar moratoriums on wind and solar installations, until zoning ordinances could be updated.

In an effort to “leave no stone unturned,” Linn County will pay $12,500 to have consultants review its drafted data center zoning code.

The funding will be used to support reviews from two third-party consulting agencies, MSA Consultants and the Antara Group, ahead of the Linn County Planning & Zoning Commission formally reviewing the draft code.

Consultants’ notes will be used to finalize the draft language, which is expected to appear before the Planning & Zoning Commission later this month. The code also will require approval from the Linn County Board of Supervisors before it can take effect.

Data centers are currently being built in southwest Cedar Rapis, and Linn County Supervisor Kirsten Running-Marquardt said Google has approached the county about building another data center near Palo.

Grace Nieland of The Gazette contributed to this report

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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