Steuben County IN six-month data center moratorium (2026)

Steuben County, Ind. (county seat Angola) — SIX-MONTH MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTER CONSTRUCTION formally enacted by the BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS by RESOLUTION on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2026. PROCEDURAL POSTURE: the resolution FORMALIZES AND ADOPTS AN AUGUST 2026 RECOMMENDATION FROM THE STEUBEN COUNTY PLAN COMMISSION — the recommend-then-adopt sequence, with the commissioners as the adopting body. This is the ORTHODOX path and is worth contrasting with Bemidji MN one-year data center moratorium (2026) in this same wave, where a PLANNING BOARD vote is reported as the final action and the entry is held at needs-confirmation for that reason. STATED PURPOSE: to temporarily pause new developments and give local officials time to DRAFT A PERMANENT ZONING ORDINANCE governing where data centers may be sited. STATED POSTURE: the county 'says they are not completely closed to future technology business' but emphasises that 'the massive scale of these projects requires the county to establish clear guardrails first.' THE PRECIPITATING FACTOR IS TRANSMISSION INFRASTRUCTURE, NOT A PENDING APPLICATION: 'utility companies are actively discussing plans to route HIGH-TRANSMISSION ELECTRIC LINES THROUGH STEUBEN COUNTY, adding urgency to grid management.' TRANSMISSION AVAILABILITY IS THE PRIMARY SITING DETERMINANT for hyperscale data centers, so new high-voltage routing functions as a leading indicator of development pressure; Steuben County is regulating ahead of the load rather than behind it — the same pre-emptive posture as Sauk County WI 18-month data center moratorium (2026) in this wave. DURATION: six months is SHORT relative to the dataset's 12- and 18-month norms, implying a compressed drafting timetable and a materially elevated probability of an extension request before 2027-03-15. INDIANA CONTEXT: county zoning authority runs through the Advisory Planning Law (Ind. Code art. 36-7-4); the source does not state the resolution number or the statutory basis, and NEITHER IS ASSERTED HERE. expires_date IS COMPUTED as six months from adoption and is NOT stated in the source. NO VOTE TALLY IS GIVEN.