Indianapolis leaders are proposing new regulations on data centers that would address common concerns like noise levels and energy use, but stop well short of the temporary bans on new facilities passed in nearly a dozen other Indiana counties.
The Department of Metropolitan Development, which oversees land use and zoning, shared draft policies to regulate data centers April 21 that could be implemented as soon as June. Before any vote, however, city leaders are seeking feedback on a topic that has spurred intense pushback in neighborhoods across the city where developers have sought to build the energy-intensive facilities.
Environmental and consumer advocacy groups told IndyStar that these early policies don’t go far enough to minimize potential pollution or ensure transparency from data center developers.
How the city would regulate data centers
The new policies would create a “special use district” for data center developments, defining them as facilities that house computer or network equipment used primarily for data storage and processing.
The regulations would set maximum sound levels and heights while requiring data centers to be built a minimum distance away from protected areas like neighborhoods. They would require developers to build sidewalks along nearby right-of-ways and erect fences to screen equipment like diesel generators from public view.
The city’s regulations on water and electricity use would be less explicit because those utilities are mainly regulated by state agencies, officials say. The city would, however, require data center developers to create several plans detailing how they would manage water use, electricity requirements, noise and the possible shutdown of their facilities.
Developers would also have to submit letters from utility companies verifying that there’s enough electricity and water capacity to meet the data center’s needs without disrupting service to residents and businesses.
Auboni Hart, a spokeswoman for DMD, said the tentative plan is for the Metropolitan Development Commission — the city entity that oversees land use and economic development — to approve the data center regulations on May 20. That would set up a final vote by the Indianapolis City-County Council as early as June 1.
Before that happens, however, the city’s hosting two virtual information sessions about the regulations on April 28 and April 30 and seeking written feedback from community members.
Environmental advocates say regulations are too weak
Advocacy groups that track data center development said some of the regulations need to be strengthened.
Ben Inskeep, program director for the nonprofit Citizens Action Coalition, criticized the draft policies as a “green light for more data centers coming to our community without adequate protection for residents living here.”
Specifically, Inskeep and leaders with the Hoosier Environmental Council lament that the city is not requiring or incentivizing data centers to use clean energy. The city says wind, solar and geothermal energy would be permitted and “encouraged, but not required.”
AES Indiana has already outlined a plan to rely more on natural gas, a fossil fuel, if there’s an influx of data centers in central Indiana. The city’s regulations wouldn’t require any pollution impact study to determine how much a data center’s energy usage could increase emissions and worsen air quality, critics say.
Inskeep also takes issue with the maximum sound level of 65 decibels measured at the property line. That’s about as loud as a normal conversation or a vacuum cleaner.
“To me, it shows a need for the city to just issue a moratorium on data centers until it can seriously address this issue,” Inskeep said, “rather than just greenlight more unwanted development across our communities.”
At least 10 Indiana counties have enacted a moratorium on new data centers, according to Inskeep, while Marshall County in northern Indiana outright banned the facilities on April 20.
Many residents have called for the Indianapolis City-County Council to pause data center development, but city leaders don’t seem willing to do so. Councilors rejected a symbolic resolution in favor of a moratorium in January.
“We are not a city that will be banning something like infrastructure,” Democrat Vop Osili, the former council president and 2027 mayoral candidate, said in January. “I think many of us look upon power and data centers as infrastructure, in the very same way that we look upon power lines, telephone lines and sewer lines.”
Doran Moreland, the council’s chief of staff, said in a statement April 21 that it’s important for each data center project to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. He said the city needs guardrails that “minimize potential impacts on surrounding neighborhoods, and ensure that meaningful community benefits are part of any proposal.”
“Done right, these projects can contribute to our city’s growth,” Moreland said, “but they must be balanced with strong standards, accountability, and a clear commitment to the communities they impact.”
How to weigh in on data center policies
DMD will host two virtual meetings to discuss the proposed regulations on the following days next week:
You must register in advance to attend the meetings. Whether or not you can attend, you can also submit a public comment using a form on the city’s website.
View more information about the city’s proposed data center regulations at https://www.indy.gov/topic/data-centers.
Email Indianapolis City Hall Reporter Jordan Smith at JTSmith@indystar.com. Follow him on X @jordantsmith09 and Bluesky @jordanaccidentally.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy unveils new data center regulations. Critics say they’re too weak
Reporting by Jordan Smith, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
