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County planning consultant issues UDO interpretation: data centers treated as unlisted land uses; PUDs remain an available but negotiated option
Summary
Planning consultant Brad Johnson presented a formal memorandum interpreting the UDO: data centers (large, intensive facilities) are not listed permitted uses and must be considered through rezoning/PUD processes; staff said the memo is public record and can be challenged to the BZA.
Brad Johnson, a consultant with Ground Rules, Inc., told the Vermillion County Area Plan Commission that a newly issued administrative memorandum clarifies how the county’s Unified Development Ordinance treats unlisted land uses such as data centers.
"Anything that's not clearly listed is not permitted," Johnson said, explaining UDO Article 1.2.20. He distinguished small "server farms" — modest on-site server installations — from large data centers, saying the differences in scale, traffic, noise and infrastructure mean the ordinance should treat them differently. Johnson recommended the PUD (planned unit development) process as the pathway for large, novel projects that are not otherwise listed, stressing that a PUD is a negotiated rezoning that must be a "win" for the county and should spell out where the UDO applies if the PUD is silent.
Johnson also reminded the commission that administrative interpretations can be challenged to the BZA and that the memo had been shared with the RISE board; he said the memo now exists as a public record. "If someone wanted to build a large data center, it's not a listed use and you'd have to either use the PUD process or obtain a rezoning with negotiated conditions," Johnson said.
Commissioners asked whether the APC should formally affirm the memo; Johnson advised against doing so unless the memo is likely to be challenged. County Commissioner R.J. Donovan later thanked staff and Johnson for publishing the memo and said it was "very well done."
Why it matters: The memorandum clarifies that novel, high-intensity development proposals will not be treated as permitted uses by right under the UDO. That interpretation constrains how developers approach large projects and signals that conditional rezoning or PUDs — with negotiated mitigation and community protections — are the expected paths for proposals with significant off-site effects.
