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County adopts six‑month moratorium to craft data‑center zoning definition
Summary
County committee adopted a six‑month moratorium (with option to extend) to draft a local zoning definition and standards for data centers, directing staff to study electricity, water, noise, traffic and environmental impacts and to consult ZBA and counsel; committee removed a megawatt threshold from the moratorium language before voting.
Zoning staff proposed adding a definition of "data center" to the county zoning code and asked the committee to adopt a short moratorium while staff and counsel develop ordinance language and a study scope that addresses electricity usage, water consumption, noise, traffic, utility infrastructure and environmental compatibility. "We are currently looking at putting a moratorium on this for 6 months with we can do another extension if needed," staff said during the presentation.
Committee members discussed whether the moratorium should include a megawatt‑based threshold and whether smaller‑scale facilities should be excluded; the committee removed the megawatt language and approved the moratorium without that restriction. Members also discussed steering future data‑center development to designated overlay districts and flagged coordination with utilities (Amaron/ComEd) on grid capacity and potential closed‑loop cooling options. Staff said it will consult legal counsel and the ZBA and return findings to the board.
