The Johnson County Board of Supervisors discussed the possibility of a temporary moratorium for data centers if rezoning applications are approved.
A moratorium is a legal obligation requiring a delay in activity, which would give the board time to study the effects of a data center before it is built.
Supervisors and constituents have raised concerns about water pollution, the amount of power needed to run data centers, and where in the county the centers would be located.
The data centers would be built in unincorporated Johnson County, or land that is not a part of a city or town, if all applications for rezoning, subdivision, site plan, and building permits are approved. The board would also be able to end the moratorium early if it wanted.
While no firms have tried to build in Johnson County yet, companies like Google, Quality Technology Services, and Science of New Analytics LLC have all proposed or started development in neighboring Iowa counties, such as Linn and Pottawattamie counties.
The board acknowledged data centers are a "hot topic" around the county right now.
Supervisor Rod Sullivan highlighted the fact the board discussion would not necessarily stop a data center from opening in Iowa City, Coralville, or North Liberty, as those areas are under separate zoning entities.
"I feel pretty strongly that they [Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty] have a better ability to monitor the capacity of water use than we do," Sullivan said. "Without creating infrastructure that we don't have, I think it would be better if one [data center] does come to Johnson County that it go to one of those places."
Data centers have been known to use and pollute significant amounts of water. This is a large point of concern for the county, as it primarily gets its water from aquifers. Aquifers are a limited resource and cannot be contaminated.
Sullivan said he had not had a conversation with any of the city planners about opening a data center. The county's Assistant Director of Planning, Development, and Sustainability, Nate Mueller, said while there had been some discussion at a statewide planning conference in October, the discussion had been more general and included various jurisdictions.
Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz encouraged sharing information Johnson County has collected with the cities, as the county is already looking into possible outcomes.
"There might be things that they're not thinking of," Fixmer-Oraiz said. "I do agree they have many more regulations and ordinances in place that probably would preclude such a massive industrial use."
Mueller agreed he would continue to do research for the board, and the board held off on making any decisions at their Nov. 5 meeting.