Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission approved moving forward with amending an ordinance to add language pertaining to data farms during its meeting Wednesday.
APC Director Matt Sandy said there's been a growth in data farms in northern Indiana, including St. Joseph County and Rochester. In October, the APC approved rezoning for ground near a Kosciusko County REMC substation northwest of Pierceton for the construction of a computer data center.
"Our ordinances are drafted the best they can be for what we know at the time we're writing the ordinances," said Sandy. "There's always uses that come up that we couldn't have seen coming. Data farming is one of those. We've been shoehorning data farms into Industrial II. I think it's time we look at the ordinance and we need to either add that as a permitted or accepted use, or fitting it in where we can as processing."
Sandy said he believed data farms should be placed under rules pertaining to Industrial III districts.
"Megawatt was 1 acre," said Sandy. "There are some (data farms) that can be 5, 600 acres. That's a huge difference. This is a bigger discussion than just shoehorning it into an ordinance. I think it's prudent for a developer to have direction, and at the same time, it helps us make decisions."
APC President Lee Harman suggested other counties with data farms be reached out to and determine their zoning approach.
The commission noted several advantages and disadvantages to having more data farms within the county. Commission member Larry Coplen expressed concerns with cooling at the data farms and the expense of energy, as well as the possibility of local farmland being destroyed as a result.
"And if a project's brought forth and we don't have regulations for something, and it's submitted, it stands as is at that point," said Sandy. "We can't bring in the rules on top of it. It's definitely a longer conversation even when we have a proposal."
The commission approved discussing the topic further in January.
Outside of data farm discussion, the commission approved a request from Perry Miller to rezone ground from an agricultural to an Agricultural II district. The property is located on the west side of CR 650W, south of CR 1150N, Nappanee. Attorney Steve Snyder, representing Miller, said Miller wants to split the property and construct a new, downsized residence on the northwest corner of the land.
Snyder said the goal is to create a two-lot plat and also noted Miller is negotiating a purchase agreement with Lyle and Kathryn Yoder, who own property north of him. If negotiated, the land would be combined with the west lot of Miller's property.
Snyder told the commission the area in general was both high-density agricultural and residential, with a lot of smaller parcels with residences on CR 1150N.
"The residences are not, for the most part, agriculturally related," said Snyder. "A significant portion of (Miller's) tract is wooded and the remainder of it is pasture ground. It's not used as pasture, as it's maintained and mowed."
Miller also intends to leave Yoder's property as agricultural and will not pursue rezoning for it.
The commission continued a two-lot subdivision request for land near Little Chapman Lake until March 2025. Brandon Wittkamper and his brother are looking to rezone the land in question to an Agricultural II district, located on the east side of EMS C24 Lane, south of EMS C24C Lane, Warsaw.
At their November meeting, the APC requested soil samples from the property be sent to the Kosciusko County Health Department and a feasibility study be completed by the Tippecanoe Chapman Regional Sewer District. Snyder, representing the Wittkampers, said these steps hadn't been completed yet and requested a continuance for several months.
A final plat for a 19-lot subdivision near Big Chapman Lake was also approved. The property is owned by Annette Knepper and located on the west side of EMS C28 Lane, north of EMS C28E Lane in Plain Township.
The APC also recognized County Surveyor Mike Kissinger, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Kosciusko County APC's next meeting is at 1 p.m. Jan. 8.