The Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 3 adopted a temporary amendment to the Unified Zoning Ordinance (UZO 1‑23) that creates a definition for "data center" and establishes a constrained approval path for larger facilities.

County staff said the amendment was designed as a stopgap to address rapidly evolving technology uses and to differentiate small existing server facilities from large, campus‑scale data centers. Under the adopted language, existing small operations that fall under the new "data center" definition may continue in their current zones; a new "large data center" (exceeding the gross floor area threshold in the amendment, discussed at the hearing as 10,000 square feet) would be limited to parcels zoned I‑2 and require a rezone or finding of a suitable I‑2 site followed by a special‑exception review at the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Staff said the approach is not a prohibition but creates a public‑review path including APC public hearings, a legislative rezone hearing and a BZA special exception, giving the public multiple formal opportunities for input. The amendment also includes a sunset provision that would cause the large‑data‑center definition to expire Nov. 30 unless staff returns with a permanent amendment.

Stacy Burr, who said she serves on the West Lafayette City Council, supported the I‑2 restriction and urged broader definitions to avoid definitional loopholes ("server farms, computing facilities, digital infrastructure"), adding that resource impacts cross jurisdictional boundaries. Lisa Tarvin of Stop the Leap pipeline urged scrutiny of high water usage and impacts to the Wabash aquifer.

Commissioners discussed the measure as a precautionary step and noted there were no pending large center proposals before the county. The board approved the temporary amendment by voice vote, recorded as 3–0. Staff said it will consult neighboring jurisdictions and draft a detailed permanent amendment for later consideration.