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Otoe County places up-to-one-year moratorium on data‑center permits, convenes zoning review committee
Summary
Following a public hearing, the Otoe County Board of Commissioners voted May 19 to impose a moratorium of up to one year on building and conditional‑use permits for data centers and to form a zoning review committee to update county regulations amid resident concerns about noise, water and power use and loss of agricultural land.
The Otoe County Board of Commissioners voted May 19 to place a moratorium of up to one year on building and conditional‑use permits for data centers and to create a zoning review committee to update county regulations.
The action followed a public hearing in which residents raised concerns about noise, pollution, water and power consumption, and preserving agricultural land if data centers are sited in the county. Commissioner Jerad Sornson opened the hearing; several residents including Wynee Benedict, Mayrene Thummel, Jane Dose, Victoria Watkins, Joann Martens, Jim Nemec, Ted Vasko, Jeff Parker, Ann Boellstorff and Dale Wurtele spoke during the public comment period.
Commissioner Crownover moved to create a zoning review committee to revise the county's regulations and prepare a report for the Board; Commissioner Sornson seconded. Appointed to the committee were county representatives Jerad Sornson, Chuck Cole, Dan Thomson and Jenniffer Panko‑Rahe and Planning Board representatives Dan Hodges, Howard Bebout and Cheri Wirthele. The motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Chuck Cole then moved, seconded by Commissioner Crownover, to enter a moratorium on building permits and conditional‑use permits related to data centers for up to one year while the review is completed. Commissioners voted in favor (Cole, Sornson, Parsons and Crownover), and the motion carried. The moratorium language allows the county to lift the restriction earlier if updated zoning regulations are drafted and approved.
The zoning review committee will prepare a report and recommended regulatory changes for the Board to consider; the transcript records no timeline for committee deliverables beyond the moratorium window. The Board's action does not itself adopt permanent zoning changes; it pauses permitting while the county reviews regulatory options.
