Shawnee County planning commission recommends zoning changes for data centers

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Shawnee County is taking the first step in studying potential data center developments.

The Shawnee County Planning Commission voted to recommend zoning changes that would require conditional use permits for data centers, energy storage systems and private and public utility structures.

County planning officials said those entities would need only a building permit if they met other requirements.

Planning staff said they know a battery storage facility has leased land in the Tecumseh area.

While no data center plans are known, Shawnee County Commissioner Aaron Mays told WIBW on last week’s Eye On Northeast Kansas that there is interest.

“The size of these things is so large that I don’t think a blanket policy is going to work for this. I think it needs to be kind of a case-by-case basis, probably,” he said. “There are good things about data centers, too. These projects, some of them are up to a billion dollars in value and that is a property tax-paying property, if you don’t give them an exemption. We would not give an exemption. We’ve already said that to Go Topeka, at least I have.”

The Shawnee County Commission is expected to vote on the zoning changes at its June 11 meeting.

Pottawatomie County is in the midst of meetings as Beltline looks into building a data center in the Emmett area. Their next planning committee meeting is on May 21.