Lincoln County adopts data-center regulations, sends rules back to planning commission for refinement

The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners adopted an amendment to Section 8.22 of the county zoning regulations governing data centers on Aug. 31, approving Resolution No. 2026-29 by a 5–0 roll-call vote. Planning Director Judy Clark summarized staff recommendations and presented options to adopt the planning commission's language, the citizen-suggested (highlighted) amendments, or a combination of both; the board chose to adopt the amendment and send it back to the planning commission for additional refinement.

Residents and stakeholders addressed the board at length during the public hearing that opened at 10:21 A.M. Speakers raised detailed concerns about definitions and technical sections of the draft. Thomas Davis spoke on cooling-system definitions, and Rachel Nelson "stated she does not want a data center," focusing on site design, natural resources, water and wastewater. Other commenters addressed behind-meter generation and utility review (David Fleecs), noise standards (Nancy Nelson), decommissioning and financial assurances (Charles Fleecs), continuing compliance and inspections (Martin Mora), environmental and community impact analysis (Diane Huebner), and operational requirements and screening (Shaylee Scranton, Teresa Rotert). County Clerk Rebecca Rossell entered five exhibits into the record, including citizen working recommendations and emails from local stakeholders.

Chair Kent Weems said he favored adopting more robust baseline guidelines now and returning the regulations to the planning commission for further review and refinement. Deputy County Attorney Tyler Volkmer confirmed that a community benefits agreement definition will be attached to the draft resolution. The board's action adopted the amended Section 8.22 while preserving an avenue for technical edits and additional policy language on items such as water regulation, taxation, monitoring, noise standards and decommissioning.