INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis City-County Council is set to vote Monday on a proposal that could temporarily limit new data centers.
If the ordinance establishing the moratorium is passed, city officials would urge the Metropolitan Development Commission to pause approvals for new data centers until May 7, 2027, or until the City-County Council can pass more defined regulations for future developments.
It comes as the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development says that four data centers submitted requests for approval in the last year.
Two of those have the green light to move forward, one in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood and one in Decatur Township, while plans for data centers in Franklin and Pike townships were withdrawn by their developers.
Opponents of data centers argue that these developments may negatively impact people’s health, the environment, and utility prices; those in favor argue that they can provide economic development for the city.
District 13 Councilor Jesse Brown, a Democrat, introduced the temporary stay on new data centers. He spoke to News 8 following the city’s virtual info session on the topic on April 28.
“At the very least, we should be pausing any data center development that’s in the pipeline, and asking them to do what American Tower did in Pike Township, which is withdraw for now, wait until the county figures out what we want to do in terms of regulation, and then come back.”
The city currently has no zoning regulations for data centers, but officials are drafting an ordinance that could include noise limits and require developers to have utility plans.
That proposal could be introduced at next month’s City-County Council meeting and voted on in July.
Monday’s City-County Council meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the City-County Building.
