The Lake County Plan Commission needs more time to look at data center-related changes to county governing documents.
The commission unanimously voted to table an amendment changing the Unincorporated Lake County Unified Development Ordinance at its Wednesday evening meeting. Commission member and Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer, R-Cedar Lake, was absent from the vote.
More Top Picks Beats Studio Pro
The commission had a public hearing scheduled for the amendment, but it was tabled, so the hearing also was. If the body takes the amendment off the table at its November meeting, they’ll also have a public hearing.
According to county documents, the UDO amendment would change the definition of “data center,” listing it under the “wholesale, distribution and storage use category.”
The proposed change identifies a data center as “a facility primarily used for the storage, management, processing, and transmission of digital data” and has “computer or network equipment, systems, servers, appliances.” Uses for data centers include data storage facilities, server farms, artificial intelligence training or processing, image processing, cloud computing or email services, according to the draft amendment.
Proposed changes also include identifying data centers as a “prohibited use” in business zoning districts and making the developments a special exception use in M-1 light industrial zoning.
The amendment also creates supplemental use regulations for data centers, including detailed applications for special exception approval — such as a site plan, construction schedule, access routes for emergency vehicles and a written letter from NIPSCO showing adequate electric capacity is available.
Operators will also be required to submit water management plans, a thermal and microclimate analysis, proof of liability insurance, and a noise study and mitigation plan, among other actions.
Plan Commission Vice President and Lake County Commissioner Jerry Tippy, R-Schererville, said Wednesday night that the amendment has not been looked at by a zoning consultant, and he wants a consultant to review the changes before voting. Tippy said Wednesday that he’s concerned about enforcement issues.
“I would like for them to have an opportunity to review this ordinance for any issues regarding enforcement,” Tippy said. “I mean, there are things in there about water usage that I’m not sure we (can enforce). It’s great to put that in there … but how can we guarantee that we can actually enforce what we’ve written in this ordinance?”
Plan Commission President and Lake County Surveyor Bill Emerson shared some of Tippy’s concerns Wednesday evening.
“I know this is something we’ve been discussing a long time,” Emerson said. “I think we all want to do this and make our ordinance as protective as possible. … We need to have, in my opinion, standards that are clear and reasonable.”
Plan Commission member Paul Panczuk, who helped draft the amendment, said Wednesday that he did a lot of research into data center development, and it’s changing daily. Panczuk said the amendment would create guidelines that “are pretty close to cutting edge.”
However, Panczuk said he has no issue with a consultant looking at the changes for precautionary measures.
Ken Huseman, plan commission member, voted for tabling the amendment, but prior to the vote, he expressed concerns that data center development rules are always changing.
“I don’t think we can play God here,” Huseman said, “because we can write a perfect ordinance tonight and feel safe, but tomorrow it’ll be out of date.”
Tippy told Huseman that he understands the concerns but said it’s important for the county to get this right.
The move to change county data center zoning rules comes about five months after the plan commission gave no recommendation for a data center in Eagle Creek Township near Lowell. According to Post-Tribune archives, in June, the Lake County Council voted to advance the data center project, also known as Project Shirley.
New York-based Sentinel Data Centers plans to build a data center on about 160 acres of land in Eagle Creek Township, on the south side of Indiana 2 and east of Clay Street.
Local attorney David Westland — who represents the project — previously said the data center would be developed in phases over five years. Lake County and Sentinel Data Centers officials have not signed nondisclosure agreements for the development, Westland said.