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Finney County adopts data-center special-use application form amid public concern about water and transparency
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Summary
The Finney County Board of Commissioners adopted a supplemental special-use permit application for data centers and amendments to the base special-use form to implement Article 36, prompting sustained public comment about water use, emergency planning, wildlife impacts and perceived secrecy. The board approved the standardized forms to require detailed project disclosures before any approval.
The Finney County Board of Commissioners on April 28 approved a supplemental special-use permit application form for data centers and amendments to the county's base special-use form to implement Article 36 of the Finney County Zoning Regulations.
Mackenzie Phillips, development administrative coordinator, told the board the supplemental form is designed to collect site design, utility and infrastructure, environmental, public-safety and decommissioning information specific to data centers and related facilities. The forms are intended to create a predictable review process so staff, the planning commission and the board can evaluate applications under 27 enumerated criteria.
The adoption followed roughly an hour of public comment focused on proposed data-center campuses. Jackson Turner and other residents urged a moratorium and demanded detailed answers about total water use, fire and emergency response plans, infrastructure footprint (roads, substations, transmission lines), noise and construction impacts, and decommissioning. Rance Shrivogel, Kansas delegate for the National Wildlife Federation, warned of bird strikes and local weather effects from large solar fields. Lana Duvall, president and CEO of the Finney County Economic Development Corporation, said the county and partners are collecting water and infrastructure data and argued the county still has leverage to negotiate community benefits and payment agreements if developers apply.
Commissioners emphasized the forms themselves do not approve any project; they said the supplemental application will require future applicants to provide the technical information residents asked for before any land-use approvals occur. Commissioner Schultz and Commissioner Yoots both pointed to the 27 evaluation criteria in Article 36 and said those criteria are intended to guide the board's determinations and allow public input at later review stages.
A voice vote approved the adoption after commissioners said the standardized form will improve transparency and ensure staff collects the information necessary for a careful review once applicants file actual proposals.
The board did not take action on any specific data-center application at the meeting; the action approved only the county's application forms and related amendments under Article 36. The board encouraged residents with questions to consult the agenda packet and staff resources and said further application-specific hearings will provide additional public-review opportunities.
