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Residents urge Polk County to delay zoning for AI data centers, cite secrecy concerns
Summary
Residents told the Polk County Board they want no zoning decisions on AI data centers until independent impact studies, public education and full disclosure of any nondisclosure agreements; speakers warned of large energy and water demands and cited recent Wisconsin cases where NDAs concealed project details.
Jason Avery, a Clayton resident and senior cybersecurity engineer, asked Polk County supervisors to delay any zoning decisions related to potential AI data centers until a full independent public impact assessment on electricity, water and noise is completed and made public. "This is not a warehouse. It is heavy industrial infrastructure," Avery said, adding that a single modern AI data center can consume as much electricity as 100,000 households and that nearby counties have faced secrecy around nondisclosure agreements with developers.
His wife, Denise Avery, also of Clayton, asked the board to "commit no zoning vote until a full independent public impact assessment" is complete, to hold public education forums with independent experts rather than developer representatives, and to ensure written public comments are entered into the official record. "I'm asking this board to say not yet," she said.
The Averys cited recent reporting that several Wisconsin communities signed nondisclosure agreements with data‑center developers and noted that the state senate has considered legislation to prohibit such NDAs. Neither the board nor corporation counsel offered a substantive response to the specific NDA examples during public comment; the board proceeded to other agenda items.
Why it matters: Speakers framed data centers as large, industrial projects whose local effects — on the electric grid, water supplies and county budgets — may fall partly outside county control yet produce local impacts. The request for independent study and wider public engagement reflects community concern about both environmental effects and transparency in project negotiations.
What the board can do next: The board did not take action on data‑center zoning at this meeting. Public commenters asked the board to require independent impact assessments and to make draft agreements and developer proposals available to the public before any zoning vote.
The public comment period also included a candidate for Congress who emphasized federal funding priorities for county services. The board then moved to consider multiple resolutions on the agenda.
