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Last Thursday evening, the Planning and Zoning Commission hosted a "Community Roundtable" to provide an opportunity for Marshalltown and Marshall County residents to let the Commission know what they thought were important topics for data center regulation.
The event was held at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in a room filled with large round tables surrounded by chairs. And most of those chairs were filled by the end of the evening.
Each table had a stack of papers: three sheets for each participant to list concerns and comments (although what the differences were was unclear), multiple copies of stapled documents (for some reason), and a pile of large-format full-color images (including an unlabeled map of Marshalltown with markings that certainly looked interesting and a collection of photographs of data centers in other Iowa towns and cities). All that paper and all those color copies were expensive.
And most of it ended up in the trash. The things were well-organized. The same can not be said for the Housing Office or the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Clayton Ender, the Zoning Administrator, gave opening remarks that were mostly unintelligible since he began speaking at the far end of a long room without a microphone. And even after someone found one for him, it only worked intermittently.
So, his explanation of the meeting's purpose and the purpose of all those papers was lost. And without adequate direction, the folks who were there to talk about their concerns for data center regulation were left to try to figure it out on their own. The Commission members and City Council members who were there were probably meant to direct the conversations, but most of them didn't seem sure of the structure, the topics, or their role, in general.
I wandered around the room, listening to conversations and reading what people at various tables were writing. Some tables had full sheets, whether one person was acting as secretary and recording what was said, or because many people were writing their own thoughts.
But more tables had little or nothing written, and a fair number were not discussing regulations for data centers in Marshalltown or Marshall County, at all.
Instead, they were talking about why there shouldn't be any data centers in Marshalltown or Marshall County. Petitions were circulating, and No Data Center flyers covered up the Commission's papers.
After about half an hour, Mr. Ender asked each table to give a short presentation on their discussion. The first few were thoughtful and thought-provoking, and I ended up with several new research questions, which I appreciated very much.
But after three or four tables had reported, the meeting slowly turned into a No Data Centers rally, with a microphone. The reporter from KCCI also had a microphone, and she made she that the speakers who opposed data centers got recorded.
I had not noticed her doing that when the first few tables reported their on-topic discussions. I can only assume that she was attracted by noise and fury. Thoughtfulness doesn't play well on the nightly news, apparently.
It didn't take long to get to testifying, with people yelling and jumping up from tables to deliver their opinions on why Marshalltown should not have data centers. Why Marshall County should not have data centers. Why there should not be any data centers anywhere.
And through it all, Mr. Ender and the City staff stood back against the wall and observed. The Commission members stayed at their tables. I'm pretty sure one Council member left. And just as an aside, Mr. Schneider wasn't there at all. After all his support for data centers, you'd think he would have welcomed the chance to be there and defend his position without paying for an ad.
As it was, nobody defended the City's position. Nobody pointed out that the purpose of the Roundtable was to discuss specific concerns for creating new zoning regulations in Marshalltown. Nobody reminded the crowd that there are no data center regulations now.
Nobody pointed out that those who were protesting were interrupting the process of developing the regulations Marshalltown needs in case a developer comes calling and the City Council likes the offer.
Let's hope that those who wrote down their thoughts and suggestions had good handwriting and used complete sentences so those comments can have an effect.
Otherwise, I fear that the Zoning Administrator and the Planning and Zoning Commission will now do as they please, with very little community input. I guess we'll find out in mid-October, when they present their plan at the Open House.
Earlier on Thursday, Marshall County's Zoning Commission passed a six-month moratorium, which now has to be passed by the Board of Supervisors before it becomes effective. The County Zoning Administrator was at the Roundtable, so he now has a better idea of what might be in store for him and other County officials.
I appreciate the folks who have read my articles and have told me that they have found them useful. Right now, I'm not sure what they've been useful for. My intention for the articles and the website was to provide factual information to support thoughtful discussion. Maybe that happens around kitchen tables.
But it certainly didn't happen Thursday night at the Community Roundtable. And I'm sorry that the City of Marshalltown didn't stand up and make it happen.
I hope I'm wrong about what the final zoning regulations for Marshalltown will be. So far, most of what I've heard from the Commission has focused on architectural design (which is not the same as structural requirements), so I'm not very hopeful. I would love to be wrong. Stringent guidelines for data center development, based on the most current and evidence-based information for protecting communities, would be a great accomplishment, even if none ever gets built here.
We'll find out in October, when the community will be invited to an Open House at the Coliseum. Until then, the next Planning and Zoning Commission work session will be held on September 17th and will be open to the public. The City Council will meet earlier that week and, as always, the agendas and supporting materials for the meetings will be posted on the City website beforehand.
Annie Grieshop has lived in rural Marshall County for nearly 20 years. Having spent decades working as an historian of technology as well as for multiple technology companies (including 7 years in platform security at Microsoft), her involvement with many parts of technology and public policy is wide-ranging.