The Warrick County Area Plan Commission held a special forum at the Friedman Park Event Center to take public comment on a proposed data center ordinance, and many people in the audience voiced frustration with the draft.
Christopher Stephens of the Boonville Fire Department was the first speaker. He said fire chiefs across the county have asked to be involved and have not been heard, telling the commission they still have not had a seat at the table and that repeated requests have drawn only minimal email communication.
Other residents said the county should learn more before passing any ordinance and questioned whether more data centers are needed at all. Critics say the draft is too vague and that officials still do not know enough about data centers.
The draft ordinance would create a floating Data Center Overlay District, known as DC-O. A data center could be built only on land zoned for heavy industrial use that also has DC-O zoning, and getting that zoning would require a site-specific rezoning approved by the Board of Commissioners. The draft sets a sound limit of 55 decibels at a neighboring home, setbacks of at least 300 feet for buildings and 500 feet for intensive outdoor equipment, and a landscaped buffer of at least 100 feet near residential property. It also asks developers to provide fire and emergency medical services information in their applications.
The forum follows the announcement of Project Alloy, a proposed data center on roughly 700 acres of Alcoa-owned land near the company's riverside complex. County officials have said the ordinance is not written around any single project and does not approve any data center or rezone any property. The Board of Commissioners will consider the ordinance on Nov. 9 at 4 p.m. at the Friedman Park Event Center.
