Wright County Clarifies Upcoming County Board Discussion on Data Center Zoning

Wright County Administration has issued a clarification regarding an upcoming public hearing concerning a potential interim zoning ordinance for data centers. The hearing, scheduled for the May 19th meeting of the Wright County Board, will address a matter brought forward by Wright County Planning & Zoning. Officials noted that inaccurate information has been circulating on social media about the scope of this discussion. The discussion will focus on a potential emergency moratorium of up to 12 months on the approval and construction of new data centers within Wright County's townships. However, county administration emphasized that this proposed ordinance would not affect data center development within individual cities, specifically mentioning the City of Monticello. Wright County Planning & Zoning's authority over zoning applies only to townships, not to incorporated cities. Therefore, any potential moratorium language considered by the county board would not override or alter the process for data center proposals in Monticello. County officials are interested in resident feedback on the proposed county-level moratorium but want to make it clear that the discussion will not involve or impact future data center proposals within Monticello.