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City staff outline zoning fixes as residents press council for moratorium on proposed data centers
Summary
City staff briefed the Topeka governing body on data center basics and a proposed zoning text amendment while dozens of residents urged a moratorium, independent health and environmental studies, and stronger limits on water and electricity service for large data facilities.
At a July 7 Topeka governing body meeting, city staff said there are no formal applications for data centers inside Topeka city limits but described preliminary discussions with Compass Data Centers about a county site adjacent to a Walmart distribution center and outlined a timeline for a zoning text amendment to require conditional use permits for data centers.
Leah Bowling, the city’s economic development director, told the council the presentation was informational and not an expression of support or opposition. She said staff received a community checklist from Compass Data Centers the afternoon of the meeting and that Compass plans a community open house on July 28. Bowling said the county on June 11 adopted a zoning text amendment that requires conditional use permits for data centers and energy storage systems in light and heavy industrial districts; city staff proposed a similar amendment to close an existing code gap so future projects would come through a public review process.
The proposal’s timeline calls for drafting and review at the planning commission in July, a planning commission public hearing in August and, likely, governing-body consideration in September. Bowling said a CUP process would require applicants to disclose site utility connections, anticipated water usage, lighting plans, noise mitigation, stormwater management, buffers and traffic impacts.
Council members pressed staff on authority limits and options. Staff said zoning changes would apply only inside city limits (subdivision rules apply within the city’s three-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction for platting) and confirmed that the proposed text amendment seeks to ensure data centers are not allowed "by right" in light- or heavy-industrial zones. Several council members asked about a moratorium or other delays; staff said a moratorium would require explicit direction from this governing body.
Public comment focused overwhelmingly on the data-center issue. Residents raised concerns about water use and rates, grid capacity and public-safety burdens, low-frequency noise and air quality, proprietary confidentiality agreements with developers, and evidence of pre-application utility planning. "Do not let big tech build by stealth," a resident said, summarizing the fear voiced repeatedly by neighbors who described soil borings and utility-level studies they said signal advance planning.
Health-care professionals and other speakers urged the council to require baseline, independent pre‑ and post‑construction health and noise monitoring and to consider a moratorium until protections are in place. "I respectfully ask the council to adopt a moratorium on new data center development until health protections are put in place," said one commenter. Several speakers also urged the council to use the city’s control over water service contracts as leverage in negotiations with prospective developers.
What’s next: staff expect to present a drafted zoning text amendment to the planning commission in July, hold a planning commission hearing in August and return the measure to the governing body in September. Compass Data Centers has indicated it will host a community open house July 28 to present a proposed project and take questions.
The governing body did not adopt a moratorium or any ordinance at the July 7 meeting; the discussion and public comments set the stage for forthcoming planning-process hearings and potential future actions by the council.
