Mercer County approves definitions but ties vote on listing data centers as conditional use; Chapter 3 moved to April 1

Mercer County commissioners held the third reading of proposed amendments to the county zoning ordinance during their March 18 meeting and took mixed action on three sections.

Tax Director and Land Use Administrator Jennifer Neumiller conducted the third reading of the ordinance changes that add definitions for "Data Center" and "Digital Asset Mining" (Chapter 1, Section VII); list Data Center as a conditional use in the Industrial District (Chapter 3, Section IV); and update statutory authorization language (Chapter 7, Section 1) to reflect North Dakota Century Code requirements.

Commissioner Casey Voigt moved to approve Chapter 1, Section VII as presented; Steve Guenthner seconded and the motion passed on a unanimous vote. Commissioners also approved Chapter 7, Section 1 on a motion from Voigt and second from Wolf; that motion carried unanimously.

A separate motion to approve Chapter 3, Section IV (listing Data Center as a conditional use in the Industrial District) was moved by Steve Guenthner and seconded by Gene Wolf. The vote split: Guenthner and Wolf voted aye; Voigt and Vice Chairman Jamee Folk voted nay. Because the vote was tied and no majority was reached, the commission moved Chapter 3, Section IV to the April 1, 2026 agenda for further consideration rather than approving it at the March 18 meeting.

What this means: the county now has the proposed definitions on record, but it has not yet decided whether Data Centers will be explicitly permitted as a conditional use in its Industrial District. Further consideration and public input are scheduled for the April 1 meeting.