LaPorte County officials are moving to restrict where data centers can be built after a Fortune 100 company began purchasing farmland for potential development.
The LaPorte County Commissioners voted on Oct. 15 to approve a resolution that would restrict data center development in unincorporated LaPorte County to areas zoned for industrial use like the Kingsbury Industrial Park. The resolution, modeled after one in Lake County, which commissioners said was modeled after a Lake County ordinance, cites a Fortune 100 company "purchasing significant tracts of land along U.S. 35 from 250 South to 400 South for what appears to be a data center with no authorization or consent from county government and with no indication that rezoning for light industrial use will take place or is even desirable for such an area."
There are currently no pending data center proposals in unincorporated LaPorte County, according to the resolution. Microsoft is building a $1 billion data center in LaPorte. Michigan City officials in September approved Milwaukee-based Phoenix Investors to invest $830 million to build a data center in the former Anco windshield wiper plant, 402 Royal Road.
While the resolution doesn't create a law, it formally sets the county's policy direction by urging the Plan Commission to draft an ordinance limiting where and how data centers can be built. The commissioners' unanimous vote regulates future data center development.
The proposed ordinance would restrict data centers to areas zoned for light or heavy industrial use and set strict design and operational standards. Facilities would need to be at least 200 feet from homes or farms, limit noise to 55 decibels and keep all mechanical equipment out of public view. They would also be required to have a six-foot security fence and provide annual firefighter training focused on data center safety.
Several residents spoke during the Oct. 15 meeting in favor of the restrictions, telling the commissioners they did not want data centers in their backyard. They raised concerns about electric and water usage, as well as noise and light pollutions and a lack of studies on the long-term health effects.
LaPorte County resident Christine Ward for instance said she moved to rural areas for peace and quiet and worried. She raised concerns about her property values if a data center moved down the street.
"We don't want it in our backyard either," said Carolyn Tole, a resident who participated in public comment. "I just I'm really tired of listening to people in town saying, 'Oh, put it out in the Kingsbury Industrial Park. Well, our neighborhood's been out there since 1942. So, I don't know why you're so quick to throw something out there when the water system that we have doesn't even, you know, work for us. I get water that's blood red sometimes out of my faucets. I have never drank my water in 10 years that I've owned that house. So they can't sustain a data center."
Commissioner Steve Holifield said a data center ordinance would require developers to get a zoning change through the LaPorte County Board of Zoning Appeals, which would give the public a chance to remonstrate. He urged concerned residents to keep attending public meetings to voice their concerns.
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