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Planning staff: county has no specific data-center rules as commissioners discuss SUP and PUD limits
Summary
Planning and zoning reported modest upticks in building permits and told the commission there are currently no specific provisions for data centers; commissioners debated limits on PUDs and the permanence of SUPs after a 2024 policy change that can extend permit durations when no complaints are recorded.
County planning and zoning staff told the Leavenworth County Commission that current development regulations do not include specifications for data centers, and commissioners spent substantial time clarifying how planned unit developments (PUDs) and special use permits (SUPs) are applied.
John, a planning and zoning staff member, reported Q1 activity and said staff are indexing old board orders into formal regulations as part of a broader cleanup. "There are no specifications for data centers as it stands today," he told the commission, noting any future proposal would be reviewed against existing categories or require a regulatory amendment.
Commissioners then questioned whether the county could require PUDs to comply with underlying zoning or otherwise prevent high-density projects in rural areas. Planning staff cautioned that restricting a PUD to base zoning would defeat the purpose of a PUD, which is by design site- and plan-specific. Staff also noted existing development regulation language that already restricts some higher-density residential projects to proximity to towns.
The board also revisited the county's SUP framework. Planning staff described four intensity categories for SUPs and said a 2024 change allows staff to recommend longer renewal timelines when an initial SUP has no complaints — potentially moving an SUP into a 10-year or longer review cycle. Staff emphasized that SUPs are intended to be temporary and that making them permanent without a formal rezoning process would bypass public notice and review.
Why it matters: The exchange highlighted a regulatory gap for large, unusual uses such as data centers and the tension between easing administrative burdens for routine permits and preserving public notice and land-use safeguards for more intensive operations.
What’s next: Planning staff said they will continue indexing past board orders into the regulations and will advise the commission if a specific data-center proposal emerges or if the commission wishes to pursue rulemaking.
