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County hears staff briefing on data centers; asks for draft zoning guidance
Summary
Transportation and development staff walked commissioners through what data centers are, their energy and water demands, and the state moratorium on certain tax breaks; the board asked staff to notify them of any local applications and to return with draft ZDO (zoning) guidance addressing location, resource capacity and potential code changes.
Clackamas County planning and development staff briefed the board on July 7 about data centers, their technical demands and the state policy context, and commissioners asked staff to prepare draft zoning guidance to manage potential local impacts.
Dan Johnson, director of the County Department of Transportation and Development, and Cheryl Bell, assistant director, said data centers range from retrofits in urban buildings to large industrial warehouses, and that key local concerns are energy, water and location. Bell cited high‑level figures used in policy discussions: "Two studies found that U.S. data center energy usage in 2023...was approximately 4.4% of the U.S. annual electricity consumption," and she referenced EPA figures on water use used for cooling. The pair said land‑use review would focus on site feasibility statements from water and sewer providers and standard development review elements.
Johnson briefed commissioners on recent state action. He said the legislature created STIF via House Bill 2017 earlier (discussed in a different agenda item) and that, on data centers specifically, House Bill 4084 placed a temporary pause on new data‑center enterprise‑zone tax exemptions while the state data center advisory committee develops recommendations.
Commissioners pressed staff on local effects: possible noise from cooling fans, whether personal property taxes on server equipment flow to the county, the risk of local water or power capacity limits, and whether the county could limit locations through zoning. Johnson said county code currently treats data centers like other industrial uses and said staff would track state guidance and could prepare model ZDO amendments and locational standards for the board to consider. The board directed staff to notify commissioners if an application is filed and to return with potential zoning amendments and an assessment of the staff time and impacts needed to draft them.
No local regulations were adopted; the session was informational with a clear board direction to staff.
