(La Porte County, IN) - An ordinance governing data centers is being sought in La Porte County.  The La Porte County Commissioners Wednesday night voted unanimously to request an ordinance allowing data centers strictly in areas zoned for industrial use be adopted by the La Porte County Plan Commission.

 

The meeting was packed with residents from the area of Indiana 39 and 400 South in response to speculation there’s interest in building a data center on what’s currently farmland in that part of the county.  Ken Layton, a former La Porte County Sheriff and once a La Porte County Commissioner, suggested Kingsbury Industrial Park for a data center.

 

Layton said the park is already equipped with water, sewer and utility service with the Kankakee River close enough to draw more water from for a data center, if necessary.  In addition, he said there’s already a buffer zone keeping the inside the park out of public view from the outside.

 

“You can’t see what’s going on inside the K.O.P. unless you go inside the K.O.P., he said.  The park was once known as the Kingsbury Ordnance Plant where bombs were made decades ago for military use.  So far, officials said no data centers have officially come forward with any proposals but there needs to be restrictions in the books just in case a developer formally requests permission to locate one in the county.

 

Resident Don Laskowski expressed fears a data center would negatively impact private wells like what’s been reported as happening outside New Carlisle where an Amazon data center is going up.  “I’m just worried all of our water wells are going to get sucked dry,” he said.  Commissioner Joe Haney suggested residents also turn out in great numbers whenever the process begins for the planning commission to consider a data center ordinance.  “That’s exceptionally important,” he said.