Shawnee County adopts zoning change to require conditional use permits for data centers after large public outcry

Shawnee County commissioners voted unanimously June 11 to adopt home rule resolution HR2026003, a text amendment to the county zoning regulations that will require energy storage systems and data centers to obtain conditional use permits (CUPs) rather than build by right in certain industrial and rural zones.

The change affects RA1, RR1, I1 and I2 zones and reclassifies private and public utility structures so the county can impose site-specific limits and hold public hearings, Joanie Thodani, director of land use and development, told the board. "If these text amendments are not made, the county would have no control over an energy storage system or a data center coming into our industrial areas," Thodani said, arguing the amendment gives the county authority to impose conditions or deny applications.

The measure drew an extended public hearing with more than a dozen residents speaking at length about water use, energy demand, noise and health impacts and tax incentives. Heather Connor, who identified herself as a Shawnee County resident, warned of heavy water consumption and cited outside studies estimating a midsize facility could consume about 300,000 gallons a day, with larger sites allegedly using as much as 5 million gallons; she urged commissioners to block data centers from county farmland. "Data centers would drastically affect this by drying up rivers and lakes just to keep the servers they house cool," Connor said.

Speakers also questioned enforcement of Senate Bill 98, a state measure they said allows a 20-year tax exemption for qualifying data centers, and asked who would monitor job promises, water discharges and infrastructure impacts. Javier Garcia asked whether utility extensions and wastewater testing would be required in CUPs and who would enforce those conditions.

Commissioners repeatedly stressed that the amendment does not approve any specific project. "We are not approving or denying a data center today," Commissioner Aaron Mays said, adding that the change was intended to make developers "ask permission" rather than proceed by right. Commissioner Bill Ripon said the measure gives the county the ability to require conditions — for example, closed-loop cooling systems or utility-payment obligations — at the time an application is considered.

The county planning commission had recommended the amendment at its May 11 hearing (6–1), and staff said no applications for data centers or energy storage systems had been submitted yet. After the public comment period closed, Commissioner Ripon moved to approve the home rule resolution; Commissioner Mays seconded the motion. The board approved HR2026003 by roll call, 3–0.

What happens next: the amendment places data centers and energy storage systems under the CUP process, which triggers notice and public hearings at both the planning commission and county commission levels when a developer files a proposal. Commissioners and residents said they expect further debate about whether to add additional guardrails, independent third-party studies, reporting requirements and decommissioning plans when actual proposals arrive.

The board recorded widespread public demand for a moratorium or outright ban; commissioners said a moratorium is possible but emphasized that the CUP framework gives the county immediate authority to require conditions or deny incompatible proposals. The county also noted planning staff will continue outreach and may return to the planning commission to refine implementing regulations.