Madison County considers data center moratorium

Madison County officials are considering a six-month pause on data center projects in the county.  As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, it was standing room only at a meeting to take public comment on the proposed moratorium.

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00;00;00;11 - 00;00;08;03 Nat sound If you are against a data center, would you please stand up quickly and then sit back down with. 00;00;09;19 - 00;00;16;24 Thomas Ouellette Dozens of attendees spoke in favor of the moratorium in front of the Madison County Planning Commission, including Luke Fields. 00;00;17;00 - 00;00;29;10 Luke Fields As somebody who is looking to purchase a home within the next two years and currently looking at Anderson for that. Looking at Madison County for that, if we end up with these data centers for us personally, that's going to change. 00;00;29;12 - 00;00;46;11 Thomas Ouellette Those in favor cited negative effects of data center projects like the draining of natural resources, utility bill increases and noise pollution. Rob Sparks, executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Corporation, spoke as one of the few attendees against the moratorium. 00;00;46;11 - 00;00;53;09 Rob Sparks We believe data has a place. We believe it will be a great supplement to our tax base and our assessment. 00;00;53;12 - 00;01;05;17 Thomas Ouellette County Attorney Jeff Graham says the planning commission's vote of 8 to 1 is a favorable recommendation to the Madison County Commissioners. The commissioners next meet on June 16th. I'm Thomas Ouellette in Anderson.

Dozens of attendees spoke in favor of the moratorium in front of the Madison County Planning Commission, including Luke Fields.

“As somebody who is looking to purchase a home within the next two years and currently looking at Anderson for that, looking at Madison County for that, if we end up with these data centers, for us personally that’s going to change,” said Fields.

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Those in favor cited negative effects of data center projects, like the draining of natural resources, utility bill increases and noise pollution.

Rob Sparks, Executive Director of the Madison County Economic Development Corporation spoke as one of the few attendees against the Moratorium.

“We believe data has a place,” Sparks said. “We believe it’s a great supplement to our tax base and our assessments.”

Read More: Delaware County Commissioner supports local data centers and drone development

County Attorney Jeff Graham says the planning commission’s vote of 8-1 is a favorable recommendation to the Madison County Commissioners. Jerry Alexander was the lone no vote.

“The executive of a city is a mayor,” he said. “The executive of a county is a board of commissioners, and they would make the ultimate call on whether an ordinance gets changed or not.”

The commissioners next meet on June 16.  According to Graham, if approved by the commissioners, the moratorium is “effective upon passage” with no waiting period.

Graham says there have not yet been any proposals to build a data center in Madison County.

Members of the planning commission also say they’ll consider extending the moratorium to a full year during the commission’s meeting in July.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer. Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu.