Indianapolis Forms $300,000 Committee to Rewrite Data Center Rules After Three Projects Win Approval
Indianapolis and Marion County officials created a $300,000 committee to develop new data center regulations covering issues such as noise, public health, environmental impacts and resource use. A moratorium on new data center developments runs through 2027, but previously approved projects by DC BLOX, Metrobloks and Sabey are exempt, despite continued neighborhood opposition and infrastructure concerns.
Indianapolis officials have established a $300,000 city-county committee, led by planning firm MKSK with research support from Indiana University's Environmental Resilience Institute, to recommend new data center regulations. The committee will examine generator noise, public health, environmental impacts, electronic waste, building size, resource use and fiscal effects, with a proposed zoning ordinance potentially arriving in 2027.
The Marion County moratorium on new data center development, approved by the City-County Council and enacted by the Metropolitan Development Commission, runs through Dec. 31, 2027, but does not apply to projects already approved. Those include DC BLOX's Warren Township campus, Sabey's $4.3 billion Decatur Township project and Metrobloks' proposed facility in Martindale-Brightwood. DC BLOX reduced its building and generator plans after opposition, while Metrobloks continues to face neighborhood resistance over tax incentives. The article also highlights regional power and water disputes involving Google's Morgan County project and Meta's Lebanon campus.