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Council approves ordinance to define and regulate data centers in industrial zones
Summary
The council approved the second reading of an ordinance that creates a formal definition for 'data center' and permits the use in light and heavy industrial zones, subject to a capacity study for electrical and water services.
The Rapid City Council moved to adopt an amendment to Title 17 that creates a formal definition for "data center" and makes the use a permitted activity in light and heavy industrial districts, subject to a required capacity study for electrical and water services. Community Development Director Vicky Fisher presented the second reading and said affected utility providers reviewed and supported the proposal.
Fisher said the ordinance requires submission of a capacity study with a building permit to show sufficient electrical and water capacity; the study would be routed to impacted utilities (Rapid City for water and three electric providers that serve the city) before a permit could be issued. "That permit would not be issued until it was identified that both electrical and water capacity existed for the use," Fisher said. Utilities had been consulted and supported the ordinance language, she added.
Council approved the second reading and recommended the ordinance move forward. The ordinance clarifies the municipal permitting path for data centers and builds a technical check (capacity review routed to utilities) into the permitting process. The action does not itself approve any specific data-center project; it creates a zoning framework to allow such projects to be proposed and evaluated.
