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Clark County officials say county cannot block city data centers; residents raise water, power concerns
Summary
At a March 4 Clark County work session in Springfield residents pressed commissioners about an AI data center and the county's ability to limit such facilities; commissioners and legal counsel said the county lacks authority over centers sited inside city limits and noted zoning and utility constraints.
Commissioner Sasha L. Rittenhouse told residents at a March 4 work session that a data center in the industrial park is inside Springfield city limits and therefore the county currently lacks authority to restrict it.
That exchange came after Pam Oliver asked whether the county could stop the data center from being built. "That is the only one in Clark County that I am aware of. It is in the city limits, so the decision for this data center did not come through the county," Rittenhouse said.
Why it matters: data centers can demand substantial quantities of water and electricity, and residents said the county and city do not have sufficient power capacity to support more such facilities. Commissioner Charles A. Patterson described one local AI data center expansion and emphasized the scale of resource use: "Instead of a typical data center that only has a few employees, this one has 25–50 employees. The big concern most people have with data centers is the use of tremendous amounts of water and power." The comments reflect local anxieties about utility strain and economic incentives for large developers.
County counsel Beau Thompson said municipalities have options that counties do not always share. "The city of Urbana passed a twelve-year moratorium on data centers in their city limits," Thompson said, noting moratoria are a tool cities and villages sometimes use while they update regulations.
Residents also linked solar projects and data-center proposals, arguing developers use multiple projects and incentives together. Diana Daniels urged officials to improve public notice and to reconsider tax rebates for incoming projects, saying developers "have lots of money to throw around." Commissioners said zoning and utility capacity discussions remain ongoing and that projects already in motion will proceed under existing approvals.
What happens next: commissioners took no formal action on data-center rules at the session. They noted zoning remains the primary regulatory tool and that any county-level restrictions are limited; officials said they will continue conversations with municipal partners about how to manage future growth and utility demands.
