Opponents plead for greater restrictions to no avail

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The Kokomo Common Council attempted to offer some consolation to the community dead-set against the development of a data center at its Sept. 14 meeting. But the new regulations for these and other industrial projects did nothing to assuage the tempers of those strongly opposed to data centers, no matter the restriction.

The new regulations will require:

• A prospective data center structure, including electric substations, to be placed a minimum of 350 feet from any existing residential structure.
• It also requires a minimum setback of 200 feet from any property line abutting a residential district.
• Electrical transmission lines running parallel to a data center lot must be set at least 100 feet from the lot boundary.
• Equipment or generator testing for a data center is prohibited between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m.
• All roof or ground-mounted mechanical equipment must be completely screened from public view, using landscaping or fencing.
• Any proposed data center must submit a master site plan at the time of initial application, which will detail the full, anticipated build-out of the site, including the square footage, the timeline for each phase of construction, and the identification of any additional utility infrastructure designed to accommodate future development.
• Data centers that maintain a critical IT load of less than one megawatt and encompass less than 10,000 square feet are exempt from these new standards.
• The ordinance allows for data centers, specifically, to be allowed in all industrial zones, regardless of intensity.
• Data centers also will be allowed in an OIA-OL (Office, Institutional, Agricultural - Overlay) zoning district. The OIA-OL zoning is a flexible district used in areas that transition between residential and commercial zones.

To a greater degree, the ordinance encourages all high industrial-zoned developments to use the most resource-efficient technology, and it requires a decommissioning plan for those developments. These same restrictions were not extended to other zoning classifications for which a data center qualifies.

Councilman Matt Grecu, who serves on the Kokomo Plan Commission and carried the ordinance, addressed these changes, as well as provided insight into the decision not to include new language regarding accepted noise levels for developments such as data centers.

“I know one of the questions had been about noise and why we didn’t address noise with the data center,” said Grecu. “It’s because we’ve already addressed noise in our zoning ordinance. It is actually more restrictive than what had been asked to be added to the data centers.”

Grecu explained that the city’s existing ordinances restrict noise pollution to 50 decibels of sustained noise adjacent to a residential area and no more than 70 decibels when adjacent to other zoning areas. That noise limit is measured at the development’s property line.

“We were already in a good spot on that, and that’s why it’s not part of the amendments that we’re working on,” said Grecu.

The decommissioning agreement provision in the ordinance will be administered on a case-by-case basis, Grecu explained. He also warned that failing to adopt the changes would prevent the city from requiring any of the included measures.

“So, it’s important to get the zoning ordinance in place,” said Grecu. “Whether we argue that the setbacks are far enough, 10 times farther is better than where we are today, and we can always adjust this in the future.”

The public was unsatisfied by the changes, and those speaking out made it clear that nothing short of an outright ban on large-scale data center development is unacceptable.

“I ask each of you to put yourself in the position of the people who are going to be asked to live within these areas,” said resident Joe Russeau. “If a data center were proposed across the street from your house, your property, or near your family, would you believe this ordinance proposed provides enough protection?

“I’m not saying that these developments are inherently bad. I believe that they are. We know that economic investment and jobs are good for the community, but stewardship requires us to consider not only what we may gain, but also what we’re asking others to accept. If this were your home, your property, your family, would you be satisfied with this ordinance, or would you be asking this council for greater protections?”

Howard County resident Vickie Jackson explained that her family farms 900 acres in close proximity to the city. She reiterated concerns about water usage that have been raised to the council for months.

“It is said that (a data center) would take water five miles away,” said Jackson. “That affects our farm ground. That will affect our yields. I think that feeding our families is way more important than having a cell phone. I’ll give up my cell phone.”

Kokomo resident Seth Sorrell encapsulated the vitriol the community has directed at the council and the administration of Mayor Tyler Moore, expressing the widely held feeling that the voice of the public is going unheeded.

“We shouldn’t even be talking about this,” said Sorrell. “This should have been shut down in March, but you all don’t care. You’re all going to vote for what you want, regardless of what all of us say. If you all believe in this ‘Koko-Momentum’ Moore campaigned on in 2023 making the city better, you’re not doing a very good job.”

After public comment concluded, the council cast its vote. The ordinance passed on an 8-1 vote, with Councilman Bob Stephenson (D-2) standing as the lone dissenter. The measure then went to the mayor’s desk for his signature.