Linn County residents air concerns on proposed data center ordinance

PALO — For nearly three hours, Hazel Grimm-Rhomberg bit her tongue.

Sitting in the bleachers of the Palo Community Center, she sat through presentations from Linn County staff, heard comments from county supervisors and listened to statements from nearly two dozen other area residents before making her way to the podium.

There, she outlined concerns about how something like a large-scale data center development could negatively affect the resources and rural character of the small town she calls home.

My family has “four generations in (Linn County). I own an over 100-year-old farm, … and my grandfather started Palo Savings Bank with $50,” she said. “Palo means a lot to us.”

It was a sentiment shared by many in the audience roughly 100 people who gathered Wednesday for a public meeting on a proposed county ordinance to outline where and how data centers could be built in unincorporated Linn County.

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The county has not received any formal applications for a data center project, although several developers have expressed interest. The ordinance was drafted now to provide a regulatory framework should an application come to fruition anywhere in unincorporated Linn County.

Before it can be adopted, however, the ordinance must receive three rounds of approval from the Linn County Board of Supervisors. The board gave its first OK on Wednesday, but only after highlighting several areas for additional staff review ahead of its second consideration.

“Some of these things we can definitely have conversations on, and that’s the whole point of us being here and listening to the community,” said board Chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt. “We’re setting the guideposts” for future development.

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What’s in the code?

A data center is a facility that houses computer servers, data storage and other equipment that stores and returns information to end users. With increases in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, the number of data center projects nationally is skyrocketing.

Already, two data center campuses are under construction in southwest Cedar Rapids, and Linn County Planning & Development Director Charlie Nichols said the county has fielded several inquiries from developers looking to site similar projects in rural Linn County.

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Most notably, tech giant Google has expressed interest in constructing up to six data center buildings on land in unincorporated Linn County adjacent to the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Palo — thus the decision to hold Wednesday’s meeting in Palo.

The ordinance as drafted would create a new exclusive-use zoning district with specific parameters and application requirements for large-scale data center developments proposed within Linn County. It was drafted following extensive research by county staff and the review of three separate consultants.

“These are generational uses with generational infrastructure impacts,” Nichols said. “Treating them as a normal warehouse or a normal commercial use is just not working for other communities, and that’s one very pertinent lesson that we learned” during our research.

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The code outlines the necessary application process for any interested developers, including the submission of a major site plan, development timeline, site layout and an estimate of the number of jobs that would be created as a result of the project.

The applicant would also be required to complete and submit a water study “demonstrating there is sufficient reliable water supply to meet all projected water demands without undue adverse impacts on existing users, aquifers or watersheds.”

After rezoning, but before any building permits could be issued, the applicant would then be required to enter into a water use agreement with Linn County to govern ongoing coordination regarding reported water use over the facility’s lifetime.

Residents express concerns, questions

Roughly 100 residents attended Wednesday’s meeting, where Nichols presented the ordinance to supervisors before opening the floor for public comment. Nineteen residents spoke during the meeting, interspersed periodically by additional commentary from county staff.

One of residents’ primary concerns was about the heavy resource demands associated with data center development — particularly when it comes to water and electricity use.

While consumption rates will vary depending on the design, data centers are big draws on both accounts: Electricity is used to power the computers within the data center while water is frequently used as a cooling agent to offset heat generated by so many machines operating at once.

“It’s obvious from the data available that they’re going to consume a lot of our resources,” said Joe Aossey, of Cedar Rapids. “The question is whether the commitment for all those resources (is) worth the cost.”

The county is limited in how it can account for such usage given jurisdictional boundaries and legally mandated deference to state agencies. Electric use and utility rates, for example, are governed by the state’s utility commission.

Water usage is regulated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, although the county can require data center developers to provide information at the onset about how much water will be used and how.

The water use agreement included in the draft ordinance would then ensure that information remains public and that updates are provided on how data center operations are affecting surrounding water resources long-term.

Other resident concerns included noise and light pollution from data center development, as well as the potential loss of productive farmland converted for light industrial use.

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Several commenters noted that data center development could bring more jobs to the area — particularly during construction — while also stressing the need to ensure that the influx does not overwhelm Linn County’s small towns.

“One of my big concerns is about how it’s going to affect our local people when you start building out there,” said Palo resident Jeff Sarchett. “We have a Casey’s, … and we have two bars that give us a little food. Our roads are pretty decent, but if you start hauling all these trucks in, … it’s going to get a little scary.”

More research needed ahead of second reading

The draft ordinance began to address some of those concerns by regulating maximum noise levels and requiring data center developers to enter into a road use agreement with the county to ensure the maintenance and repair of roads to accommodate for construction traffic.

Developers also will be expected to enter into an economic development agreement with the county to create a community betterment fund. Developers would pay into that fund to help support public infrastructure projects, workforce development efforts and other improvement projects in the surrounding community.

In other areas, supervisors took residents’ feedback and instructed county staff to do further research to provide related updates at their next meeting.

Those directives included gathering more information on light pollution and mitigation strategies; private well protection; impacts from noise pollution on livestock productivity; and any potential code considerations for what occurs when a data center is decommissioned.

Overall, however, the board expressed broad support for the ordinance and the protections it could offer to Linn County residents.

“This is one of the most comprehensive ordinances that a local government has put together, not just in our region but in the state and even possibly the country” when it comes to data centers, said District 2 Supervisor Sami Scheetz. “It does an excellent job of protecting our residents.”

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The board was originally set to next consider the ordinance this upcoming Monday, although that was ultimately pushed back to allow time for staff to complete the requested research and recommendations.

An exact date has not been set, although it will be announced at least 24 hours in advance in compliance with Iowa open meetings laws.

Comments: grace.nieland@thegazette.com