Lafayette ties large data-center approvals to utility capacity and closed-loop cooling
City of Lafayette Utilities, Indiana · Meeting date: November 2, 2026 · Published: November 3, 2026
Lafayette Common Council unanimously approved new zoning controls for large data centers, replacing a moratorium due to expire on 30 November. The rules require applicants to document water and wastewater capacity, use an existing provider and install approved closed-loop cooling systems.
Key points
- Ordinance 2026-41 passed 8-0 and applies to facilities exceeding 20 acres, 20,000 sq ft of gross floor area or 2MW of power demand.
- Applicants must submit water-consumption projections and letters from energy and water service providers confirming that required service can be met.
- Large data centers must use an existing water and wastewater provider, comply with local pretreatment ordinances, and provide closed-loop cooling and wastewater-treatment procedures.
- Developers must bear 100% of the cost of new or modified infrastructure required for a facility, while the ordinance also requires a community-benefits or economic-development agreement.
- Area Plan Commission staff said the package was sufficiently restrictive that it would likely prohibit, or strongly discourage, large data centers from locating in Tippecanoe County.
Full report
Lafayette Common Council has adopted a large-data-center ordinance that makes water and wastewater availability a threshold issue for hyperscale developments, as the city moves to replace a data-center moratorium set to expire on 30 November.
Ordinance 2026-41, approved unanimously on an 8-0 vote, distinguishes conventional data centers from “large data centers”. The latter category captures a facility on more than 20 acres, with more than 20,000 sq ft of gross floor area, or using more than 2MW of electricity at any one time.
For such projects, applications must include projections of energy use and water consumption, alongside letters from the relevant energy and water providers confirming that the required services can be met. A large data center must use an existing water and wastewater provider for all its water and wastewater needs and comply with local pretreatment ordinances.
The measure further requires a closed-loop cooling system approved by the Administrative Officer and the local water provider serving the facility. Applicants must submit plans for that system, including wastewater-treatment procedures. They must also provide heat-sharing infrastructure, such as waste-heat recovery.
Council members emphasised the utility-capacity safeguard during the discussion. One member said participating water and sewer utilities would have the ability to accept or reject service to a proposed facility, while another said the aim was to avoid shifting the cost of additional capacity needed for large users onto existing ratepayers.
The ordinance places the full cost of any new infrastructure or upgrades to existing infrastructure required for a large data center on the developer or company building it. That provision covers, but is not limited to, electrical-grid improvements; road works are addressed separately through a required road-use agreement.
Other controls include a special-exception process, a pre-submission meeting with checkpoint agencies, a public information session, a maximum 45 dBA noise level at external property lines, a 20-mile separation from another large data center, and a 1,320-foot building setback from all property lines. At least 80% of on-site energy consumption must be sourced directly from solar or wind facilities.
Developers must submit a decommissioning plan before obtaining an improvement location permit. The plan must address removal of equipment and buildings, and required financial surety must include the full cost of any contractual commitments for infrastructure changes.
The Area Plan Commission unanimously recommended the amendment. Its staff assessment characterised the proposal as very restrictive and said it would likely prohibit, or at least strongly discourage, large data-center development in Tippecanoe County.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Council - Common Council Regular Meeting, City of Lafayette Utilities