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Board directs staff to develop data-center decommissioning policy framework
Summary
Chair Jefferson directed the county executive to develop a data center decommissioning policy framework that covers planning, environmental protection, infrastructure removal, hazardous-materials management, site restoration and fiscal impacts; residents had urged a decommissioning-bond approach during public comment.
The board on June 23 directed the county executive to work with staff to create a data center buildings and campuses decommissioning policy framework. Chair Deshauna Jefferson said the directive should address planning, environmental protection, infrastructure removal, hazardous materials, workforce impacts, site redevelopment, and community notification.
The motion drew on prior board resolutions (2021 and 2023) that initiated zoning and DCSM (Design and Construction Standards Manual) amendments related to data centers. The directive asks staff to produce interim recommendations, timeline estimates and potential fiscal impacts, and to have the county attorney review legal issues before the board sees a formal packet.
Public-comment speakers who had urged such a policy argued for requiring data-center owners to post bonds or other financial assurances to fund dismantlement and land restoration. "Data centers should take on the financial risk for dismantlement," said public commenter Roger Yackel during the earlier public comment period.
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