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Ames council pauses approvals for data centers, directs staff to draft zoning, utility and fee protections
Summary
After a large public turnout, the Ames City Council asked staff to define "data center" in the zoning code, study electric‑tariff and utility changes, examine excess‑facility charges for very large water or sewer users, and imposed a temporary hold on issuing data‑center permits while staff provides timelines and options.
Mayor John Halep said the July 14 Ames City Council meeting centered on how the city should respond if large data‑center operators seek to locate in Ames.
"We had, I think, close to a 100 a little over a 100 people in our council chambers and overflow area," Halep said, noting about 80 to 100 additional attendees in the auditorium.
Council and staff framed the action as preemptive protections for ratepayers. City staff recommended four specific items: add a definition for "data center" to the city’s zoning ordinance; review the electric tariffs and utilities chapter in the municipal code; create authority to impose excess‑facility charges on very large water or sanitary‑sewer users; and make related code changes. Halep said three of the four items are intended to ensure that any new high‑capacity user bears the cost of needed infrastructure rather than socializing those costs across all ratepayers.
Halep described residents’ concern that the arrival of a major electricity or water user could force the city to expand water‑production or treatment facilities or increase line capacity, with resulting higher rates for other customers. "The community is concerned that if a large, for this case, electricity user comes to the community, would rates go up and they would have to pay those rates for the benefit of a private entity," he said.
Council members gave staff formal direction to begin drafting the suggested ordinances and code changes and asked staff to provide estimates on how long it would take to answer the questions underpinning those changes. The council also instructed staff to implement a temporary delay on approving permits, master plans and site plans for data centers while the issues are researched; the length of that delay was not set and was described as "yet to be determined." Halep said council expects staff to return with a menu or matrix of topics and time estimates that the council can use to determine the appropriate length of any temporary delay.
The council is scheduled to revisit the topic at its July 28 meeting, at which Halep said members may set a specific timeline for the temporary delay and specify the staff responses they want.
The action was framed as direction to staff rather than as the adoption of a permanent ordinance; staff and council said further agenda items and ordinance drafts will return to council in coming months for review and potential adoption.
Next steps: staff will prepare cost and timing estimates and draft ordinance language for council review; the council will consider the matter again on July 28.
