Sparta Moves to Rezone Former Rodeo Site amid Data Center Debate

To regulate possible data centers, the Sparta Village Council amends its zoning regulations, sparking discussion among locals about more precise limitations.

The Sparta Village Council unanimously approved changing the zoning language to regulate a potential data center that could be built at the site of the former rodeo grounds, following extensive discussions at the Village of Sparta Planning Commission meeting and the subsequent full meeting.

According to Robert Whalen, the village president, the legislation only applied to general warehouses thus far. The village cannot properly regulate a data center without amending the ordinance. He said it would be governed much like a warehouse.

However, some community members opposed the unanimous vote. Brook Berg, a resident of Sparta, voiced doubt that preparations for a possible data center aren't already underway.  She continues by saying that she would have preferred more precise wording that would have made the construction of a data center more difficult.

Berg claims that if this location is zoned for a warehouse, she would have preferred to see the definition state that anything that processes commodities or information is not a warehouse. This would indicate that it is not zoned to produce or process anything.

She supported a moratorium on the construction of a data center within the next year, as did many other attendees. A few council members said that they would like to investigate that possibility.

Bill Taylor, a member of the Village Council, stated that, based on everything he had read, he intended to come in and vote against it. But now that he has gone a little farther, he realizes that there must be ground rules.

A moratorium could be proposed at upcoming sessions, according to the village manager and president.