Woodbury County officials seek public input on more data center town halls
The Woodbury County Zoning Commission is planning additional town hall meetings to gather public feedback on the development of rural data centers. This initiative follows the Woodbury Board of Supervisors' enactment of a data center moratorium in June, giving the county a year to develop new ordinances and a permitting framework. Officials emphasize that these meetings are for proactive planning, not for specific project permitting.
The Woodbury County Zoning Commission is set to discuss scheduling further town halls to solicit public input regarding rural data center development. The commission will convene on Monday, September 28, at 5 p.m. in the Woodbury County Courthouse basement to plan these additional sessions.
Previously, the county had arranged three community meetings in Sloan, Moville, and Salix, with one more scheduled for November 9. The objective of these discussions is to directly engage residents to understand their concerns, expectations, and preferred locations for data centers before the county drafts new ordinances.
This public outreach follows the Woodbury Board of Supervisors' decision in late June to enact a data center moratorium. This moratorium provides the county a one-year window to thoroughly research and establish clear standards, a permitting process, and an ordinance framework for data centers. Daniel Priestley, Woodbury County zoning coordinator, highlighted the county's efforts to accommodate the harvest and holiday seasons to ensure maximum participation from local farmers and landowners, whose input is highly valued.
Priestley clarified that the current discussions are focused solely on proactive planning and are not related to permitting any specific data center project. The county is reviewing policies from across the nation, within Iowa, and locally to inform its comprehensive plan, which aims to integrate land use, community viewpoints, and landowner expectations.