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Some Linn County residents call for moratorium; board urges study and transparency
Summary
Several residents urged a moratorium or ban on new data centers and said the county process is moving too fast; supervisors responded that the ordinance sets protections and that staff will return with additional research before further readings.
A number of public commenters asked the board to pause approvals or consider a moratorium on new data centers while the county completes research. Dorothy Wallant said she would "prefer to see all future data centers banned from Linn County," citing concerns about water and landscape impacts. Other residents referenced rising rates, the pace of approvals elsewhere and a desire for more time to examine national moratoria.
Supervisors repeatedly said the ordinance is for unincorporated Linn County only and that staff and consultants have prepared research to inform county decisions. The chair and other supervisors stressed the county’s authority limits — particularly when water permits are issued by the Iowa DNR and electrical rates fall under the Iowa Utilities Commission — and said the ordinance was intended to give supervisors the ability to say no to projects that cannot demonstrate adequate protections. "If it's too high of a price for them to pay, they don't have to come," one supervisor said.
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