Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development Data Centers topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves rezoning, special‑exception permits for proposed data‑center campus near future airport
Summary
After hours of public comment, the board approved two rezoning applications and two special‑exception requests for a proposed data‑center campus, with conditions addressing buffers, power, water and noise mitigation. Two rezoning votes were 4–1; special exceptions passed unanimously.
The Spalding County Board of Commissioners approved rezoning and special‑exception permits for a proposed data‑center campus on roughly 140 acres near the county’s designated future airport site, voting on July 14 to permit data‑center development subject to multiple staff conditions.
Attorney and applicant representative Steven Jones presented the project on behalf of Montana Property Group, describing a multi‑building data‑center campus, supporting office space, a proposed substation and sets of transmission lines traversing the property. Jones and applicant representatives said they had preliminary commitments for closed‑loop cooling and were in discussions with major power providers; he asked the board to approve rezoning to C1C (manufacturing‑light) and associated special exceptions for data‑center uses.
Four public speakers and several commissioners questioned environmental, noise and power issues, and urged strict conditions. Resident Greg Burns and other speakers voiced concerns about long‑term county dependence on a single taxpayer and generator noise; Kaye Whimpy and David Lynch cited water, air‑quality, noise and emergency access worries. Burns and others urged robust decommissioning standards and protections for neighboring properties.
Staff and the county attorney noted the site already contains multiple transmission lines and is within an employment character area of the comprehensive plan. Planning and public‑works staff recommended conditions addressing traffic mitigation during construction, adherence to airport‑overlay height restrictions, tree preservation, landscape buffers, closed‑loop cooling (to limit potable water use), seismic/emergency access planning and acoustic mitigation for backup generators. The applicant consented to staff’s recommended conditions and to include additional elements from the draft county data‑center ordinance.
The board voted 4–1 to approve rezoning application 2513Z (86.81 acres) and 4–1 to approve rezoning application 2514Z (46.1 acres). The special‑exception permits for data centers (applications 2503S and 2504S, tied to the two rezoning files) passed unanimously. The record shows commissioners added conditions during discussion to require emergency access for first responders, robust tree‑protection buffering, acoustic treatment for generators and decommissioning standards.
Why it matters: County staff and the applicant emphasized significant property‑tax revenue potential, while residents and some commissioners raised long‑term questions about power demand, noise, water use, and the county’s fiscal reliance on a single large tax payer. The board advanced the project subject to multiple conditions and will bring final rezoning ordinances back for second reading.
What’s next: The rezoning ordinances with the incorporated conditions will return to the board for formal adoption. Staff will expect the applicant to provide utility entitlement letters and a tree‑protection / landscape buffer plan before construction permits are issued.
