Edgerton becomes the second Johnson County city to deny a data center moratorium
The Edgerton City Council denied a moratorium that would have put a temporary pause on allowing data center projects to move forward in the approval process, despite early support from the City Council and a push from residents who are concerned about the potential effects of these projects in their communities.
The moratorium came forward as at least one data center proposal — an $860 million project from Dubai-based data center developer, DAMAC Digital — is going through the approval process. While the Planning Commission denied the project during its June 9 meeting, it will have to go before the City Council for final approval.
A temporary moratorium wouldn’t have stopped DAMAC’s proposal from moving forward, but it would’ve prevented any future rezoning applications, site plans or submissions for data center projects in Edgerton city limits for six months, effective immediately, according to city documents.
If it was approved, staff would’ve studied the issues during that six-month period and made recommendations to the Planning Commission and City Council for revisions to its development code and standards related to data centers to ensure “consistency and fairness,” according to city documents.
Edgerton’s denial and discussion of a moratorium comes at a time when residents across rural Johnson County have been filling their local City Council chambers in recent months as they face separate, massive data center proposals in their communities.
According to the city’s meeting minutes, several residents who spoke during public comment supported the moratorium.
Although the City Council requested that city staff draft a moratorium during its May 28 meeting, it didn’t get enough votes to cross the finish line on Thursday. The City Council ultimately voted 3-2 to deny the moratorium, with council members Josh Lewis, Bill Malloy and Clay Longanecker supporting the denial. Deb Lebakken and Ron Conus voted to approve the moratorium.
“We won’t have any comments beyond that,” City spokesperson Kara Banks told The Star in an email.
Calls for a moratorium
Edgerton is at least the second city in western Johnson County to have considered — and ultimately denied — a data center moratorium. According to Johnson County Post reporting, Gardner denied a similar request earlier this month.
Residents in Edgerton, Spring Hill, Gardner and De Soto are primarily concerned about environmental and health impacts of data centers moving into their largely rural communities.
Several residents across the cities have advocated for a pause on any proposals moving forward in order for cities to better understand the risks.
De Soto, a city with at least two data center proposals in the early planning stages, hasn’t publicly discussed a moratorium as of June 12. However, during a recent City Council meeting, City Administrator Mike Brungardt said that city staff is looking at incorporating regulations around lower noise levels in its noise ordinance and working with consultants to study new setbacks needed for data center development.
Pushback at the local level appears to be trickling into state politics, as data centers have become an increasingly divisive topic among governor hopefuls ahead of the August Primary — with four out of 10 gubernatorial candidates saying they would pursue a statewide moratorium to temporarily halt data center construction.
