Google data center campus near Duane Arnold nuclear plant (Palo area)

❓ Still unanswered

Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?

• Will Google or the landowners file to annex the land into Palo? 🙋 I'll find out
• How much Cedar River water would the campus use per day? Reports say about 12 million (KCRG) or about 14 million (Iowa Public Radio) gallons a day. 🙋 I'll find out
• Did Palo officials sign a secret deal (NDA) with Google? 🙋 I'll find out

📌 Other

Supervisors decided not to change the county's EU-2 zoning district, which would have let big data centers locate near the Duane Arnold nuclear plant near Palo before the county's pause ends. A supervisor said there was not broad public support.

📜 Data center rules

Palo's council voted 4-1 on the final reading of Ordinance 93-2026. It creates a special zoning district (EU-1) for data centers, with setbacks, noise and traffic rules. It does not approve any project; Google is still looking at land near Palo. Most people at the meetings spoke against it.

⏸️ Pause on new data centers

Supervisors voted 2-1 to stop taking new requests to rezone land into the county's data center district for 18 months, even though the county passed data center rules in February. Cities like Cedar Rapids and Palo are not covered.

📜 Data center rules

Supervisors voted unanimously to make a new zoning district just for big data centers in the countryside. Builders must stay 1,000 feet from homes zoned residential, study their water use, sign a water deal with the county, limit noise and light, pay for road damage, and hold a public meeting first. It does not apply inside Cedar Rapids or other cities.