120-day data center moratorium to be considered by Dubuque County supervisors

The Dubuque County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a special meeting to deliberate on a proposed 120-day moratorium concerning data center development. The resolution under consideration would temporarily halt the acceptance, processing, and approval of all related zoning amendments, site plans, building permits, or conditional use permits for data center construction or expansion within the county.

During this 120-day period, county staff would be tasked with researching and drafting comprehensive zoning regulations specifically for data centers. The initiative follows a unanimous recommendation from the Dubuque County Planning and Zoning Commission, which urged a pause on future data center plans to gather more information. Although various organizations have reportedly explored purchasing land in Dubuque County for data center purposes, Board of Supervisors Chair Harley Pothoff confirmed that the county has not yet received any formal data center applications.