(Radio Iowa) – Some residents in the eastern Iowa town of Palo are clashing with elected leaders over Google’s plans to build a massive data center there. The tech giant wants to use land that was annexed into the city rather than building it in unincorporated Linn County. Palo resident Ann Brown says Google stands to gain from building in town, since the county has an ordinance regulating data center development, and the city doesn’t.
“There is absolutely no way that this big, successful company did that unless they thought or knew they would get a better deal with Palo than they did with Linn County,” Brown says. “There’s no reason.” Palo Mayor Bryan Busch says he sees the data center as an opportunity, and he adds, any insinuation that Google is choosing to develop in Palo to skirt regulations is insulting to city officials.
“We’re going to get together and work things out for the best interest of all involved. We are not going to overstep that boundary,” Mayor Busch says. “We’re not going to push companies or residents into positions where we are expecting things beyond what is reasonable or anything like that.”
Busch says Google has been up-front in discussions with the city so far, and he wants Palo to be a good partner. He says the city will lean on work Linn County did in creating its data center ordinance, as Palo works to draft an ordinance of its own. He says he cannot provide information on potential water, energy, or economic impacts since the process is still in the early stages.
