Spokane County Commission split on next steps for data center developments

Some words are frightening to local elected leaders.

“Moratorium” is one of them, said Spokane County Commission Chair Mary Brooks. At a discussion Tuesday with her peers on a potential nine-month pause to any data center developments, Brooks said an all out stoppage of any duration would be bad for business.

“When you say moratorium, I think it says we’re closed for business,” Brooks said. “And we’re not closed for business, whether it’s data centers or any of it.”

The Spokane County Commission held a discussion Tuesday morning on the future of data center regulations that divided the board along party lines on potential next steps. Commissioners Amber Waldref and Chris Jordan, both Democrats, pitched a nine-month moratorium on large data centers as the county works to implement proper regulations.

Shortly after, Republican commissioners Josh Kerns and Al French said they’ve quietly been working on regulations for months that are finally ready to see the light of day. They argued that data centers provide an economic benefit the county can’t pass up.

Brooks, also a Republican, found herself stuck in the middle.

“OK, well,” Brooks said, taking a pause after the dueling pitches. “So two commissioners have one idea, two commissioners have another idea.”

Kerns argued that a moratorium, in addition to having potential adverse effects on economic growth, would be insufficient to meet the moment. Members of the public have voiced a desire for immediate action on data centers, and Kerns and French’s proposal based on existing bits of Spokane County zoning laws could be implemented by the end of August, he said.

“We should not be moving, when it comes to economic development, when it comes to an issue this big, when it comes to what we’re hearing, the outcry from this community, we shouldn’t be moving at the speed of government,” Kerns said. “We need to move at the speed of business.”

Data centers are not currently defined in the code, so whatever the commissioners decide will be the first legislation the local government enacts on the industry.

French and Kern’s proposal pulls from existing county regulations and would require the same environmental impact review process in place for large developments. Data centers could only be constructed on land zoned for industrial use, while large load data centers, defined as facilities drawing more than 200 megawatts of power, could only go in on heavy industrial zoned plots.

The two commissioners pulled from zoning regulations regarding marijuana dispensaries, proposing data centers not be located closer than 300 feet to a residential property or 100 feet from the property line. As for noise, data centers would not be allowed to exceed 65 decibels, the same regulations in place for airports.

Water availability to cool the data centers is up to water districts and other purveyors to determine, French said. He said he’s had discussion with some potential developers that have floated using waste water, although it’s not clear to what extent. Much of the controversy around data centers is misguided and based on outdated technology, he said.

“So unless you drink water from the toilet, you’re not going to be impacted by this because they’re using wastewater,” French said.

Jordan said the allure of the moratorium is that it allows for a detailed review. It also would line up with the end of the state’s 2027 legislative session, which could result in new regulations at the state level, as previously reported by The Spokesman-Review.

If an application comes in tomorrow, any action by the commissioners would be too late, he said.

“I recognize also that technology is changing and perhaps that could be a good thing in mitigating some of the issues that other communities are facing, but again, we can’t just rely on the word of industry that they are going to be better,” Jordan said. “We have to have rules in place to protect the public when it comes to water, power and other issues.”

Waldref said she’s not tied to a set timeline, only that she would like to make sure any regulations come through a thoughtful process with plenty of public engagement.

“I feel a responsibility to our community that we work as diligently as possible, but in the meantime, I would not want to see a permit come in to build something that we haven’t had the policy conversation about.”

Brooks said she would not support a moratorium, but that she too wants lots of public engagement as the commissioners consider next steps. The board does not meet for the next two weeks, so any potential action would come in August at the soonest.

“We need to engage with our utility companies, with our water purveyors, to see what are they seeing, what are they hearing in their industry that we can make better,” Brooks said. “Before a decision on what our ordinance or resolution would look like, because I don’t know what that is.”