With the debate regarding data centers continuing to wage both locally and nationally, Kansas US Second District Congressman Derek Schmidt recently weighed in on the matter during his monthly appearance on KVOE’s Morning Show.
When asked his thoughts on the data center debate, Schmidt stated that as a country, we are “engaged in something we haven’t really seen in our lifetimes.”
Schmidt says seen and heard the debate within many of the communities which he represents, noting there is a noticeable split between them, with some highly in favor and others staunchly opposed. Regardless of where a community may lean, Schmidt says any decisions on the matter “Ought to reflect those local preferences.”
Having said that, Schmidt referred to the “big picture nationally,” saying these centers “are going to be built in some volume, somewhere and we certainly want them built in friendly spaces.”
Schmidt’s comments came on KVOE’s airwaves just a few short days after the Emporia Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals spent more than six hours inside of White Auditorium as part of a special meeting where the commission ultimately tabled two items and postponed a third. The commission will revisit both the Digital Infrastructure Overlay document and a request to rezone 11 tracts of land, 10 to light industrial and one to industrial flex, when it reconvenes for a second meeting on the matter Tuesday at 6 pm.
As part of that meeting, the commission will also hold a public hearing and discussions on a request to apply the DIO to the proposed rezoned land. It is important to note that the commission’s meeting will not include additional hearings on the two tabled matters, as those took place last Tuesday.
Also worth noting is that the commission’s action will purely be for a recommendation of approval or denial of the matters, with the Emporia City Commission to render the final decision next month.
