Resident urges moratorium on data centers; clerk certifies two referendum petitions as insufficient

Marla LePage addressed the council during new business to criticize the planning process around a proposed data center and asked council to impose a moratorium to allow the city to develop zoning protections. LePage alleged staff had assigned M2 zoning to a site and proceeded without applying a PD overlay or requiring special permits, saying that step precluded public review of site plans and conditions.

"Mr. Bolander had unilaterally decided to place data centers in M2 zoning without any regulations in the city code," LePage said, arguing that the council and public had been denied meaningful input and that the city had "let the decision be made without you."

Council did not take immediate action on a moratorium request at the meeting. Shortly afterward the clerk certified results for two referendum petitions (filed by Rebecca Collins) seeking to repeal Ordinance 2026‑041 (annexation) and Ordinance 2026‑042 (rezoning). The clerk reported the petitions contained 2,832 and 2,348 signatures respectively, which the city determined were insufficient under statutory thresholds (the first was reported as 2,200 signatures short; the second 2,684 short). The clerk said no further verification by Jasper and Newton county election officials would occur.

The public comment and the certification were separate agenda items: the public comment aired concerns about process and regulation for data centers, and the clerk’s certification closed the petition effort for these particular filings based on signature counts.