Edgerton pauses debate on new data center after plans failed in nearby JoCo cities

In recent months, rural Johnson County residents have been combating proposals for data centers in their communities — with two cities seeing proposals ultimately withdrawn after a week or two.

And more are popping up. This time around, the Edgerton Planning Commission mulled over a new proposal earlier this week that seems more likely to advance than other recent projects.

Dubai-based data center company DAMAC Digital submitted a two-part application to combine three existing lots of land at the Logistics Park warehousing facility, located at 31800 W. 196th Street, in order to make way for a 382,924-square-foot data center.

DAMAC currently operates or is developing large-scale data centers in 12 countries.

The company owns the warehouse on 196th street and the building has been in Edgerton for almost a decade, city spokesperson Kara Banks said in an email.

According to the staff report, the center would serve “leading technology and enterprise customers with large-scale computing and data storage needs,” and plans to share the prospective end-users “as they become available.”

DAMAC plans to pay for 100% of electrical services to the data center and would build an electrical sub-station to serve the facility, according to the staff report. The company plans to use a closed-loop cooling system that would recycle 15,000 to 20,000 gallons of water per day.

It’s unclear how much the project would cost to build or how much energy it would use. According to the staff report, no more than 30 employees would be on the site at any given time.

While the Planning Commission approved DAMAC’s request to combine the three plots of land into one, they tabled their discussion about the data center’s site plan until they could get some clarification on questions they had about the use of diesel generators to power the site and noise pollution, Banks said.

Zoning allows for data centers

Unlike other recent proposals in rural Johnson County, Edgerton’s land in question is currently zoned to allow for warehousing and industrial activities, meaning a data center can be built on the property without making any zoning changes to the site, according to the staff report.

Data center proposals that came forward in both Spring Hill and Gardner would’ve required the developer to rezone the property — from rural residential in Spring Hill and agricultural use in Gardner. Rezoning typically has a lengthy approval process, which requires public hearings and needs both Planning Commission and City Council approvals before they can move forward.

To the delight of residents in Spring Hill and Gardner — who objected to the development of industrial activity in their rural neighborhoods — both companies withdrew their proposals before local governments in Spring Hill and Gardner could even debate the projects.

Edgerton residents aren’t having the same experience.

In Edgerton’s case, a denial could be more challenging to justify because the project meets code requirements and the parcels allow for a data center to be developed. According to Johnson County Post reporting, a developer could sue Edgerton if the City Council or Planning Commission denies a project that conforms to city code.

The Edgerton Planning Commission meets the second Tuesday of every month. As of Friday, the city doesn’t have a confirmed date for the project to return for discussion.