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Brownsburg proposes to remove data centers as a permitted use, add 'information processing facility' definition
Summary
As part of the HEA 1001 UDO edits, staff proposed removing "data center" as a permitted use in all districts and adding a new "information processing facility" definition that would allow on‑site employee processing uses but exclude high‑energy server farms.
Staff told the commission the red line amendments would delete "data center" from the use table and add a new definition for "information processing facility" intended to distinguish employee‑occupied office data work (call centers, billing centers, on‑site processing) from energy‑intensive server farms. The presenter said the intent was interpretive clarity: a definition helps the town know "what something is" when developers propose it.
During discussion commissioners expressed concern about how to draw lines between an information processing facility and a data center. Staff and commissioners suggested adding the phrase "employees on‑site" and requiring that technological equipment be "incidental and subordinate to the permitted use," so that large server farms that are primarily technological infrastructure would remain excluded from permitted uses. The commission directed staff to amend the red line accordingly before forwarding the recommendation to council.
