The Lake County Commission has agreed to move forward with an ordinance that would temporarily halt data center development. These data facilities, being built around the country, mainly support AI technologies.
The proposed ordinance would create a moratorium on any proposal to build one in Lake County. The commissioners' concerns include water usage and how data centers would impact the electric grid, land use and more.
This decision comes after recent state legislation that aims to protect residents, small businesses and local communities from data centers. Commissioner Anthony Sabatini proposed the moratorium and said they need to be studied.
“Even the legislative bill that passed the session this year doesn't really do that much when it comes to these data centers,” Sabatini said. “They're understudied. They're misunderstood. They're very, very serious commitments to utilities and land use.”
The board unanimously agreed to pursue an ordinance at a later date.
Commissioner Leslie Campione said the state should be more clear about data centers’ impacts and whether they should exist in the state at all.
“Until we have more information and understand this better, and know exactly how this could affect the environment, our residents, our quality of life, all of those issues we're concerned about, the grid, that we definitely take a pause on and do research,” Campione said.
By putting a pause on data centers, Commissioner Sean Parks said, the commission will have time to “to get our facts, to get what we want for our community.”
“I think all of us definitely don't [want] to have a major mega center, clearly,” Parks said. “But also, is there a much smaller, spread-out approach that doesn't have environmental consequences or energy cost increases? But we just have to have all the facts.”
