Lyon County will not be accepting any permit requests regarding potential data centers and solar farm developments now through August 1 and possibly longer, depending on action taken by county commissioners next week.
During their weekly meeting Friday morning, commissioners received several comments from residents regarding the potential development of data centers and solar farms, after which time, Commissioner Chris Bartel proposed a 10-day “stopgap” on applications for permits related to any of those developments. Commissioners then directed Lyon County Legal Counsel Molly Priest to develop a six-month moratorium on the matter, which they will consider for approval at their next regular meeting Thursday morning.
This was not a listed agenda item, with Bartel telling KVOE News, “Walking into the meeting this morning, I had no idea I was going to propose this.” With that in mind, KVOE News asked why it was proposed and Bartel noted the public comment as well as recent unconfirmed rumors that there may be plans developing for a second data center project in the county as major motivators.
Commission Chairman Ken Duft also stated he had heard the same rumblings from county residents and noted the county does not have adequate zoning regulations to handle such a matter, hence why he was in favor of the stopgap and moratorium’s development.
Both actions come with the Emporia City Commission set to consider several items related to the Flint Hills Digital Campus next Wednesday. KVOE News asked if county commissioners made their decisions Friday morning with this in mind, to which Bartel responded, saying he bore “No ill will” toward the city with his proposals; however, the city’s recent journey with the proposed data center project did play a role for him.
KVOE News has reported previously that conversations on data centers, specifically the Flint Hills Digital Campus, had been ongoing for roughly 8 months before its announcement in June. With that in mind, KVOE asked Duft why the county had not considered a moratorium earlier in the process.
Duft stated they were not involved with discussions “from the beginning” and again alluded to the unconfirmed rumors of a potential second project as the main development that pushed today’s proposals.
If the moratorium is approved, which both Bartel and Duft have insinuated it will be, come next Thursday, the six months following will be spent reviewing and revising the county’s zoning regulations as it relates to both aforementioned developments. KVOE News also reached out to Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking following news of the proposed moratorium, to which Cocking declined a recorded interview but did state, “It will not affect the Flint Hills Digital Campus Center,” noting the county moratorium will not affect city projects.
KVOE News has reached out to County Counselor Priest for specific wording and other details on the moratorium. KVOE will have updates on this story as it continues to develop.
