Marshalltown seeks public input on potential data center regulations

Marshalltown residents will have an opportunity Thursday to share ideas on rules governing potential data center construction at the Coliseum at 5:30.

Kayla James

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa —

Marshalltown residents will have an opportunity Thursday to weigh in on proposed rules governing potential data center construction in the city.

The community roundtable begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Coliseum and ends at 7 p.m. The discussion comes as city officials prepare an initial draft of regulations, which is scheduled to be presented to the Marshalltown City Council on Sept. 17.

“We want people to be involved,” said Clayton Ender, Marshalltown’s assistant director of housing and community development.

The topic has drawn crowds to City Council meetings since June. Ender said the Planning and Zoning Commission has held two work sessions already, but no regulations have been drafted at this time.

“The general discussion has been around making sure we adequately address noise, that we have protections in place for water usage, electrical usage where permissible within Iowa Code,” said Ender.

The roundtable follows the City Council’s approval of the second and third readings of a four-month moratorium on data center development on Monday. Residents shared their views before the vote, with many saying they wanted the third reading to be waived.

About 30 minutes after the vote, Swarm Systems CEO Amir Atefi presented a proposal involving 21 acres in Edgewood Industrial Park, which is property owned by the city. Swarm Systems builds single-tenant artificial intelligence data centers.

The presentation lasted about 45 minutes and was followed by questions and answers.

Atefi was unavailable for an interview Wednesday. During a phone conversation, however, he said he wants to continue getting to know the community and answering residents’ questions.

“The City Council did not proceed with discussion on that land purchase, so no further action has been taken,” said Ender.

For now, city officials say their focus remains on gathering public input. The four-month moratorium is scheduled to expire Nov. 23 unless the City Council votes to extend it by 60 days.