Data center developments could soon have zoning rules in Indianapolis.
The Metropolitan Development Commission voted 5-3 to recommend creating a new special zoning class for data centers on Wednesday.
It now heads to the full City-County Council. The ordinance likely won’t receive final approval until August, according to commission staff.
The ordinance is intended to regulate where data centers can be built in Marion County, how close they can sit to homes and how much noise they can generate.
Many residents asked for the commission to pause their vote — arguing for more time to develop the plan and allow experts to weigh in on particular issues, like noise levels.
In response, Commissioner Brent Lyle attempted to delay the vote so that the department’s staff could incorporate more suggestions into the ordinance, but Commission President John Dillon pushed ahead, arguing that the City-County Council was waiting on the proposal.
"There is a lot of fervor on this, and we just went over a dozen suggestions in this room that we have not even seen written," Lyle said.
After the vote, Heather Street, an Irvington resident, where a data center has been proposed, said she’s disappointed by the commission.
"I feel like people are trying not to cry, or they're like really angry right now," Street said. "It's hard because you want to be optimistic every time you interact with government, and a lot of times it doesn't go how it probably should."
Georgia-based data center developer DC Blox wants to build a campus on the far eastside that would include three buildings, up to a total of 420,000 square feet.
Indianapolis does not currently have any specific regulations for data centers — which have become a controversial issue in Indiana, largely due to concerns about water and energy consumption and the rapid expansion of such developments in the Midwest.
At the same time, Indiana's economic development officials have made data centers a centerpiece of the state's growth strategy.
The new Marion County zoning rules would not apply to data centers that have already requested rezoning changes.
The anticipated rules would also stop developers from only submitting variances of use requests instead of full rezoning petitions. A variance change does not allow the City-County Councilor who represents the area from “calling down” the proposal and forcing a full council vote to approve it or not.
The proposed ordinance would require data center developers to submit an annual report to the Metropolitan Development Commission, providing more details about their operations, including energy and water consumption, noise levels, and how often they test back-up generators.
Farrah Anderson is WFYI's investigative health reporter. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org
