SPOKANE, Wash – Spokane County Commissioners will vote Tuesday afternoon on a resolution that would pause the approval of any new data centers until land use regulations can be put in place.
The possibility of a large load data center in Spokane County has been the source of questions and controversy in recent months.
The issue came to light when it was disclosed that Avista had been approached about a data center that would use the equivalent of a significant amount of Avista’s current capacity.
Spokane County Commissioners are considering a four month pause. In effect, it would stop the building and planning departments from accepting or processing any land use applications with the standards are being developed.
The ordinance would also begin a public comment process.
Attached to the ordinance supporting the pause, county staff submitted a draft zoning ordinance for how the county could regulate the building of data centers. The pause will allow public comment and discourse related to those regulations.
The draft ordinance would allow large load data centers only in industrial areas. It also dictates parameters for how the data center developer should look at power demands and water use.
It also addresses the issue of noise generated by data centers.
County staff brief commissioners on the resolution and attached ordinance Tuesday morning.
Commissioners will vote as part of their legislative meeting at 2 pm Tuesday afternoon.
You can read the agenda here.
You can watch the meeting on the county’s YouTube page here.
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