St. Joseph County Council approves "data center balance" ordinance

St. Joseph County Council members voted 6-3 to pass a resolution calling for limits on new hyperscale data centers. This does not create an immediate ban. Sponsor Amy Drake says the resolution directs the Area Plan Commission to consider new rules and create what she calls “data center balance.” It would not halt the Amazon and Microsoft developments already underway. Supporters of this resolution say this move will help diversify the local economy by moving away from more data center development and investing in other industries. Many who spoke during public comment supported the resolution. But Tuesday's vote by the council was not unanimous and went through rounds of proposed amendments that ultimately failed. Democratic Councilmembers Diana Hess and Mark Cantanzarite, as well as Republican Councilman Dan Schaetzle, voted no, citing concerns that the ban could hurt the county's business image. "We're calling it a data center balance because we already have this industry very prevalently here in St. Joe County. So you know we have Amazon, and that has about 32 data centers planned, and we have the Microsoft project, which has another six, which are supposed to be a lot bigger than the Amazon buildings," said Amy Drake, (R) St. Joseph County councilwoman. "I kind of feel like it's a mixed bag. We probably have some Democrats and Republicans who've dug their heels in on one side or the other. We need to see the dust settle on the projects that are happening right now before we can determine what is an appropriate level of growth," said Bryan Tanner, (D) St. Joseph County council president. The ordinance now goes to the Area Plan Commission to draft language of what the "data center balance" will look like in the county. They have 60 working days to do so, and then it will be sent back to the council with a recommendation. https://wsbt.com/news/local/republican-county-council-members-introduce-data-center-ban-balance-resolution-economic-developments-diversify-st-joseph-county-zoning-ordinance-rules-definition-discussion-public-meetings-faith-leaders-tif-districk-tax-incremental-financing-indiana _________________ Stay up to date by following our social media: WSBT 22 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSBTNews WSBT 22 on X: https://twitter.com/WSBT WSBT 22 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wsbt/ For more information, visit https://wsbt.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to our newsroom: wsbtnews@wsbt.com WSBT is an IN based station and a CBS Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. Sinclair owns and operates, programs or provides sales services to 163 television stations in 77 markets, after pending transactions. Sinclair's television group reaches approximately 38.7% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, Univision and Azteca affiliates.