Des Moines County work session moves to draft moratorium on data centers, weighing zoning and ordinance options

Des Moines County officials and residents spent a work session debating how — and whether — to regulate high-utility industrial development such as data centers and commercial cryptocurrency mining, and directed staff to draft moratorium language for future board consideration.

County staff told the board the county’s zoning, updated in 2021 and adopted in 2022, applies within a two-mile corporate boundary around Burlington and would not automatically reach much of the county. "If you adopted a wind and solar as part of zoning, then it could only be enforced within that 2 mile area," a county staff member explained, urging the board to consider whether to expand zoning countywide, create a standalone home-rule ordinance for industrial uses, or adopt targeted regulations.

Why it matters: residents and officials said the scale of water and power consumption for large data facilities could strain local resources and require taxpayer-funded infrastructure upgrades. A public commenter noted that a permitted Scott County facility was described as drawing "3 to 5,000,000 gallons of water per day," and urged the county to study local water-supply impacts before allowing similar projects.

Staff cautioned that regulating an entire category labeled "industry" outside a comprehensive zoning framework could create inequities for homeowners and small businesses, and said the county would face legal questions if it tried to single out all industrial uses without a comprehensive plan. The staff advised the board that Linn County recently adopted a zoning amendment that defines data centers — explicitly encompassing commercial cryptocurrency mining — and that the Worth County court decisions have recognized moratoria as a legitimate interim tool while legislation is developed.

Board members and residents debated the scope and speed of any restriction. Some urged a narrowly targeted moratorium limited to data centers and large-scale crypto operations to avoid unintentionally restricting home businesses or established industrial users; others argued for broader language tied to objective thresholds of water or energy use. County counsel said moratoria are typically adopted by resolution, are often time-limited (examples discussed ranged from 90 days to one year), and can be written to allow necessary exceptions for existing, permitted operations.

Several residents emphasized public-health and environmental concerns tied to large withdrawals from groundwater and potential impacts to agriculture. One resident said the county should evaluate whether its water treatment and supply systems could handle a major data center customer, and another warned that taxpayers could face large upfront infrastructure costs with limited local job benefits.

Outcome and next steps: staff agreed to prepare draft moratorium language for the board to review and potentially place on a future agenda. The chair adjourned the work session.

Quote (resident): "A data center of the size in Scott County is gonna pull 3 to 5,000,000 gallons of water per day," a county resident warned during public comment.

Quote (staff/legal adviser): "We can set a period of time for 90 days. We can say until after the election," the county legal adviser said as he described typical moratorium durations and options for drafting enforceable language.

The board did not take a formal vote to adopt a moratorium during the session; staff will return with draft language and recommended scope for the board’s consideration at a later meeting.