Google’s sneaky trick to sidestep an Iowa county’s data center zoning rules

Google is seeking to bypass data center zoning rules recently adopted by Linn County, Iowa, by annexing the land for its proposed campus into a city two miles away.

If approved by city officials in Palo, the move would free Google from the water-use and economic agreements that Linn County developed for unincorporated areas with input from the company’s representatives. Though Palo is part of the county, the data center would be subject to the city’s rules, not the county’s.

The workaround is “fundamentally wrong,” said Sami Scheetz, supervisor for Linn County’s 2nd District, in a statement issued by the county on Wednesday. “Let’s be clear about what is happening here. We negotiated in good faith. And Google’s response was to go find a local government that will ask for less.”