Huntingburg considering how to address data centers

At Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, Huntingburg officials discussed establishing clear regulations for data centers after acknowledging the city’s current zoning code has no specific provisions governing the facilities.

The topic arose after resident Jacey Lamb asked for an update on the Unified Development Ordinance and its governance over data center development.

Mayor Neil Elkins confirmed that while the UDO was updated in April to address other special exceptions, data centers were not included. Under the current code, any company seeking to build a data center would need to apply for a special use exception through the Board of Zoning Appeals.

City Attorney Phil Schneider advised the council that arrangement is not a sustainable long-term solution. He has encouraged city planner Paul Lake to research how other communities across Indiana are handling data center regulations and to develop formal development standards.

Elkins says the city has already been reviewing ordinances from other counties and found a range of restrictions in use, including 55-decibel noise limits, water usage caps and 500-foot setbacks from adjoining properties.

“Some counties — just about every county — is allowing them, but they’re under certain restrictions,” Elkins said. “There’s all kinds of things in those that make them almost impossible to build.”

In response to public criticism of private meetings between tech companies and city officials, the mayor stated that he will refuse to engage in any private discussions with companies interested in building a data center in the city.

“If they want to propose a data center, they’re going to do it in a public meeting and the public’s going to decide whether they want it or not,” Elkins said. “It shouldn’t be us behind doors somewhere.”

Councilman Jeff Bounds added that the public is clearly paying attention and wants stronger protections in place. “What I’m hearing from the public is that we think we should have a concrete ordinance specifically addressing it as opposed to the current arrangement where we simply would have to grant an exception,” Bounds said.

Elkins also noted that the city’s geography may offer some natural protection in the near term, as major data center operators are currently targeting parcels of 600 acres or more — land the city simply does not have available outside of floodplains. Smaller centers can be built on 10-acre lots.

Elkins pointed to the financial influence data center companies can wield. “They’ve got a lot of money and they can influence a council, they can influence a school system,” he said, referring to donations he’s heard companies have made.

Schneider said the council or the planning commission can initiate the process of adding language to the UDO directly addressing data centers, with final approval in both cases coming to the council. He recommended that Lake be given time to present his recommendations to the planning commission or council before any action is taken.

When Lamb asked about the schedule for addressing the issue, Elkins said they could look at it after the annual budget meeting is complete. That is set to occur August 24.

Huntingburg’s discussion arrives amid a wave of similar debates across Indiana. Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute has identified 11 Indiana counties with data center ordinances already in place and at least 17 more with temporary moratoriums, while Marshall and Cass counties have banned new data centers outright.

Just a day before Huntingburg’s meeting, an Indianapolis City-County Council committee voted 10-3 to advance a moratorium on new data center approvals through the end of 2027, following months of public pressure.

In Boone County, home to Meta’s $10 billion data center in Lebanon, commissioners enacted their own year-long moratorium in June after the county’s Area Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend it.

The council also took the following actions:

Approved accepting donations for the planned fitness court at Niehaus Park and a $10,000 donation to create a mural on the new water treatment facility. Total donations for the fitness court are $66,850 with a matching grant of $30,000 from the National Fitness Foundation.

Approved a resolution authorizing TIF allocations to pay a bond for an OFS expansion project. Story here.