Pottawatomie County says company is eyeing land for data center, as planners work to develop zoning regulations

Pottawatomie County, Kansas, is actively developing new zoning regulations to accommodate large-scale data centers, following the expression of interest from an Atlanta-based company named Beltline. Beltline has reportedly approached landowners near Emmett and informed county commissioners of its intention to construct a data center within the county. The Pottawatomie County Planning Commission is spearheading the effort to draft these specific zoning regulations, which aim to create a "Data Center Overlay" to manage the potential impact of such facilities on surrounding properties. The proposed regulations would require applicants to provide detailed information on the site and its potential effects during the rezoning process. A meeting of the Planning Commission was held on April 30 in Westmoreland to review the drafted regulations. A public hearing for these proposed rules is scheduled to take place after the Commission's next meeting on May 21, following which they will be presented to the Board of Commissioners for consideration. The public is welcome to attend these meetings to listen to discussions, though the April 30 meeting was not open for public comment.