Ogle County Board begins creating data center ordinance
The Ogle County Board began reviewing a proposed ordinance governing potential data center development, including conditional-use approvals and performance standards for water, energy, noise and vibration. No data center project is currently under consideration, but some residents opposed potential development and said the draft lacks sufficient protections for agricultural, livestock and wildlife impacts.
The Ogle County Board held a first reading of proposed special-use provisions for data centers as it prepares for the possibility of future development. The ordinance would require approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals, Regional Planning Commission and County Board, while establishing standards for environmental impacts, water use, energy consumption, noise and vibration in industrial zoning districts.
Board Vice Chairwoman Patricia Nordman said the provisions are intended to protect nearby residential, commercial and office areas, while Chairman Bruce Larson described the draft as a starting point before additional consideration and public hearings. Residents including Oregon resident Towner Reed criticized the proposal as inadequate, citing the absence of an agricultural, livestock and wildlife impact plan. The county has no publicly proposed data center, although it previously rezoned more than 709 acres in Marion Township for Constellation Energy, whose Byron Nuclear Plant property has been discussed as a potential data center site.