Portage IN Technology Campus district data center rules (2026)

Portage, Indiana — Technology Campus Zoning District Made the ONLY District Where Data Centers May Locate, With a 55-Decibel Noise Cap, 65-Foot Height Limit, 500-Foot Residential Setback and Planned-Development Approval for Hyperscale (August 4, 2026)
Portage, IN · City of Portage, Ind. — Technology Campus district zoning ordinance governing data centers (adopted August 4, 2026)

Status
In effect
Took effect
August 4, 2026
Applies to
Data center developers in Portage — confined to the Technology Campus district, capped at 55 dB and 65 feet, subject to 500-foot residential and 200-foot other-property setbacks, and required to obtain planned development approval if exceeding 50 MW or 500,000 square feet
Enforced by
City of Portage Planning Commission and City Council (planned development approval); Portage zoning administration

Portage City Council unanimously adopted a data center ordinance on August 4, 2026 that is the most numerically specific municipal instrument in this dataset. It creates a new zoning classification — the Technology Campus, or TC, district — and makes it the ONLY zoning code that can be applied to a data center project. A developer cannot site a data center anywhere else in Portage, full stop. Inside the TC district the numbers are these: noise may not exceed 55 DECIBELS; no structure may exceed 65 FEET in height; and a facility must sit at least 500 FEET back from a residential district, or 200 feet from other zoned properties. The council tightened two of those on the floor, cutting the noise limit from the 65 decibels originally proposed and the height from 75 feet — so the adopted rules are stricter than what the Planning Commission recommended. And for the largest facilities there is a second gate: a project meeting the HYPERSCALE definition — electrical load exceeding 50 megawatts OR a campus greater than 500,000 square feet — must obtain planned development approval within the TC district, which is a discretionary council decision rather than an administrative one. The TC district is described as established for technology-focused business, light manufacturing and data service usage. Portage is in Porter County in northwest Indiana, where nearly a third of Indiana counties had moved to restrict data centers by July 2026.

Who is protected: Portage residents, particularly those in residential districts within 500 feet of any TC-zoned parcel; residents affected by facility noise above 55 decibels

Legal detail

City of Portage, Ind. (Porter County) — zoning ordinance adopted UNANIMOUSLY by the City Council on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, following a favorable Planning Commission recommendation. STRUCTURE: creates a TECHNOLOGY CAMPUS (TC) zoning district, established for technology-focused business, light manufacturing and data service usage, and makes it THE ONLY ZONING CLASSIFICATION IN WHICH A DATA CENTER MAY BE LOCATED. That single-district confinement is stronger than the special-use-permit model (compare North Richland Hills TX data center SUP regulations (2026)) because it limits siting geographically before any discretionary review begins. QUANTIFIED STANDARDS INSIDE THE TC DISTRICT: (1) NOISE LIMIT 55 DECIBELS — amended down on the floor from the 55/65 dB originally proposed; (2) MAXIMUM STRUCTURE HEIGHT 65 FEET — amended down from 75 feet; (3) SETBACKS: minimum 500 FEET from residential districts, or 200 FEET from other zoned properties. THE FLOOR AMENDMENTS MATTER: the adopted ordinance is STRICTER than what was recommended, which is the reverse of the usual dilution pattern. SECOND GATE FOR THE LARGEST FACILITIES: a project meeting the HYPERSCALE DEFINITION — ELECTRICAL LOAD EXCEEDING 50 MEGAWATTS or a CAMPUS GREATER THAN 500,000 SQUARE FEET — must obtain PLANNED DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL within the TC district, a discretionary legislative approval rather than administrative permitting. THIS IS THE MOST COMPLETE SET OF NUMERIC STANDARDS IN THIS DATASET and is the reference point for any jurisdiction drafting data center rules: a defined hyperscale threshold in both load and area, a decibel cap, a height cap, two-tier setbacks and a single permissible district. STATE CONTEXT: nearly a third of Indiana counties had moved to restrict data centers by July 2026; other indexed Indiana measures include Madison County IN Six-Month Data Center Moratorium and Putnam County IN Data Center Moratorium.

Key facts

JurisdictionPortage, IN
LevelCity / local
StrengthStronger
EnactedAugust 4, 2026
CitationCity of Portage, Ind. — Technology Campus district zoning ordinance governing data centers (adopted August 4, 2026)
Private right of actionNo, agency enforcement only
PenaltiesData centers may not be located outside the Technology Campus district; facilities must meet the noise, height and setback standards, and hyperscale projects require planned development approval
Topicsdata-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI
News reportPortage council approves ordinance establishing data center restrictions — Inside INdiana Business

Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere

See something wrong or out of date? Submit a correction. Every entry must carry a verifiable source.