Brown County’s Board of Commissioners set a public hearing date of Nov. 17 at 9:02 a.m. to establish an interim ordinance that would put a moratorium on permitting, expanding, or establishing data centers in Brown County’s unincorporated areas.
The moratorium would place a one-year block of any data centers looking to be established in Brown County.
Commissioner Anton Berg said the meeting is not about whether people are in favor of data centers or not, but rather to establish documented plans for navigating any potential approaches regarding data centers in Brown County.
Brown County Administrator Sam Hasen said that because of the recent progressions in data centers, there are not many state statutes that address navigation of data center development.
“I think this is a good idea to put the brakes on for a minute and catch your breath and get ourselves lined up the way we should be,” Hansen said.
The board draft ordinance reads: “data centers are an emerging land use with significant impacts related to energy, demand, water consumption, noise, heat generation, stormwater management, and land use compatibility.”
Public hearing and documented plans would allow the board to better understand data center impacts specific to Brown County.
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