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Committee begins review of data‑center and battery‑storage siting options; presentation expected
Summary
A committee member urged starting work on a county resolution to guide where data centers and battery storage facilities could be sited; staff noted the county lacks land‑use control but the comprehensive plan could guide municipal decisions and a presentation is planned for September.
A committee member raised the county’s one‑year moratorium on data centers and asked the Salvation Railroad Concerns Committee whether it wants to prepare a "sense of the board" resolution to recommend siting limits and stipulations such as use of municipal water systems or energy‑neutral operations.
"We all know about the 1 year moratorium on data centers, but it is only 1 year," the member said. "I basically think we have a year to think about how we wanna approach it as a county... making sure they're not being sited on farmland or in areas where we really want to be building housing."
Staff and committee members discussed whether to broaden the topic to include battery energy storage facilities, lithium batteries and solar siting. Several participants emphasized that the county does not have direct land‑use control over municipal decisions but that a comprehensive plan could guide municipal priorities and grant applications.
Staff agreed to schedule a presentation in September to provide detailed information to the committee and inform whether a draft resolution or recommendations should be prepared. Committee members said the presentation and any resulting recommendations would be advisory to municipalities rather than regulatory.
No formal action was taken at this meeting; members asked for a substantive presentation to help shape recommendations before any resolution is drafted.
