Dickinson County adopts six‑month moratorium on data centers, bitcoin mining, utility‑scale solar and battery storage permits

The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Feb. 3, 2026, to adopt Resolution 2026‑8, a six‑month moratorium on accepting applications or issuing permits for data centers, Bitcoin‑mining facilities, utility‑scale solar collection/storage and battery energy storage system facilities while the county updates its land‑use code.

The moratorium, read into the record by county staff, says the pause will be effective for six consecutive months from the date the resolution becomes effective and may be extended by further action of the board and recommendations from the county planning and zoning commission.

Why it mattered: community speakers emphasized potential impacts on water, energy and tourism, and asked for more time to study large new industrial uses in a primarily rural, lake‑dependent county. More than a dozen residents and stakeholders addressed the board during the public hearing, urging careful review and either a longer pause or additional protections.

Residents and experts voiced a mix of concerns and qualifications. “We need to continue to pump the brakes on development up here,” said Patrick Kelly, who identified himself as a retired truck driver and longtime local resident, and urged gathering ‘‘all the science’’ before allowing large projects. Thaddeus Cook, another resident, told the board a longer moratorium — he cited a previously proposed 15‑month pause — would allow for more research, public input and protections for farmland and lakes.

Several speakers focused on water and community character. “Water is life,” said Sarah Alexander, an Okoboji native who asked the county to protect local lakes and tourism that depend on them. Technical concerns about scale and resource use were raised by Dave Kitzinger, who described the large power and cooling needs of major data centers and cautioned that not all facilities are built the same.

Not all testimony opposed industry across the board. Josh Nelson, who identified himself as owner of a small data center in Dickinson County, said some local facilities use air cooling and do not draw on aquifers; he asked the board to ensure the moratorium would not unintentionally block small, local operations or pending sales.

Board members and staff framed the moratorium as a temporary pause to allow planning and zoning staff to draft ordinance language and to let the county’s comprehensive land‑use update inform any new rules. County staff asked whether the board wanted separate ordinances for solar, wind, battery storage and data centers; supervisors responded that separate drafts made sense because the uses raise different concerns such as water use, heat generation and sourcing of power.

A board member moved to approve Resolution 2026‑8 as presented (six months, with explicit authority to extend); another supervisor seconded. The board then recorded ayes and adopted the resolution by voice vote.

Next steps: planning and zoning staff will draft ordinance language for the nominated categories with direction from the board; the moratorium allows that process to proceed without accepting new applications for the listed uses during the pause period. The resolution text references Iowa Code "chapter 3 35" (as read into the record) and says the moratorium will be considered by the Dickinson County Planning and Zoning Commission where applicable.

The board took the moratorium vote before moving on to routine consent items and other agenda business.