by Nora Horton and Kinley Homeister

On Monday, August 3 the Jeffersonville City Council, in an 8-0 vote, approved a one-year moratorium on any data centers in the city. This comes as the topic of data centers has become contentious across the country.

Jeffersonville joins Charlestown, Clarksville, and New Albany, which have all approved one-year moratoriums on data centers. 

City Councilman Evan Stoner said the community should be cautious with adding data centers.

“To me, it would make sense that data centers are restricted from building near homes or residential buildings, parks, etc., and include strong policies requiring transparency with water and electric usage,” said Stoner. “I also do not believe it is appropriate to provide data centers tax money to build in our city. Jeffersonville doesn’t have a lot of additional land for new large-scale data centers, but without the moratorium and new updates to our UDO, smaller or medium-scale facilities could sneak in.”

AI Data Centers are facilities that host IT infrastructure that train, deploy, and deliver AI services and applications. The centers house computer systems that manage, store, and distribute data.  

Data centers store data and have many power generators, including backups in case those go out. 70-90% of data centers use a water-based cooling method, with 10-25% using air or refrigerants. Most data centers source water from community drinking water utilities. Many data centers use evaporative cooling to cool their facilities, a process in which hot air is cooled by cold water, which forms steam and pushes hot air out of the data center.

Stoner said residents have a number of worries. 

“Constituents have expressed concerns stemming from water and electricity usage of data centers, proximity to neighborhoods and parks, and perceived level of secrecy around data centers’ investment in our city and across the state,” he said. “The best way to address those concerns is through radical transparency and clear, credible information on this topic.”

Controversies have surrounded the new construction and ongoing buildings; many have spoken up across the community from both sides of the spectrum. 

Currently, there are 23 data centers in Indiana, with 89 more planned. Jeffersonville has the largest, which operates at 108 megawatts. However, a center in Elkhart set to open in 2027 will be more than 13 times larger. 

Concerns surround these data centers, with residents worried about light pollution and water consumption. Yet, there are some positive notes as well, creating hundreds of job opportunities. 

Jeffersonville City Council President Donna Reed shared her concerns about the data centers. 

“My concerns rest in how fast this technology is growing, and we really needed a pause to allow our zoning codes to catch up,” Reed said. 

Reed said these concerns led to her vote for the moratorium.

“I voted in favor of the temporary moratorium to allow time for our Planning and Zoning Department to complete additional research and create a strategy for our city growth with specific parameters and guidelines for any future proposals that fall into this distinction,” she said. “We can not ban data centers altogether based on state guidance, but we can ensure they play by the rules if they are considering Jeffersonville.”

Reed said data centers are a hot-button issue because people have taken notice.

“We live in a very connected world. Bad players can’t hide just because they are miles away, and some data centers have treated cities poorly. Those stories travel, and we have smart citizens who read about what is going on in other cities. They bring it to our attention, and we act. That is exactly how local government should work.” 

Whether a long-term plan can be made remains to be seen. If the city council can find one, there will likely be either more data centers in Jeffersonville, but with more guardrails, or no more data centers in Jeffersonville. Either way, the choice lies with the city council, and ultimately they will answer to their constituents next November.