Seward County is joining the list of Nebraska cities and counties initiating a moratorium or enacting zoning regulations addressing artificial intelligence data centers.
Seward County Commission Chair Misty Ahmic on June 16 asked the county commission to begin work on regulating if and how a data center could be built in Seward County, first asking Deputy County Commissioner Barbara Armstead to draft a moratorium on data center activities for a six-month period.
During that time, Ahmic said commissioners and members of the Seward County Planning Commission could look at zoning regulations enacted by other counties to see how they are addressing the prospect of data centers that could draw heavily on local energy and water resources.
Ahmic said the county’s current zoning regulations do not include data centers, which she said means they would not be permitted.
But the updated zoning regulations now under consideration by the planning commission include what she called “broad, vague regulations” for data centers.
Ahmic told the board that approach may not do justice to a topic as “new and controversial” as data centers.
“We are lacking power and we are lacking water and those are things that data centers require a lot of,” she said.
Ahmic and other county officials attended a Nebraska Association of County Officials “land forum” recently at which data centers were a topic of discussion.
Commissioner Raegan Hain attended the session and told commissioners they do not need to reinvent the wheel drafting regulations because this topic is being discussed in many counties.
But Ahmic said the research could take more than six months.
“I think to fully understand all of the different systems and the way they would have impact, we just have to do ourselves justice and do the work,” she said.
County commissioners noted that Otoe County recently placed a moratorium on data centers and the Gage County Planning and Zoning Commission has now recommended an 18-month moratorium to their county board.
The City of Seward enacted zoning regulations for data centers in March that would be triggered if a data center required 65 kilowatts or more of electrical capacity. Zoning considerations included use of closed-loop or recycled water-cooling systems, collaboration with the city for wastewater infrastructure, standard office parking and prescribed timelines for use of generators during power outages or testing.
City Building, Zoning and Code Enforcement Director Tim Dworak said that 65-kilowatt level is roughly the maximum capacity for a single family dwelling.
The city regulations limit such plants to industrial and commercial zones and include requirements for plant size, landscaping, generators, windows or doors, frontage facades and decommissioning plans.
As they worked on draft regulations, Seward officials found one small data center operating in its extra territorial jurisdiction area north of the city limits and learned of another one planned near the airport.
Google now has data centers in Omaha, Lincoln and Papillion.
In other action, the commissioners:
• Approved plans for Roads Department Administrative Assistant Heidi Fleischman to apply for a fiscal year 2027 grant to collect up to 450 tons of scrap tires at an April 24 and 25 event at the county maintenance shop on Missile Base Road.
• Heard Chief Probation Officer Carrie Rodriguez and Chief Deputy Probation Officer Morgan Campbell present the Fifth District office’s annual report and request for $36,410 in funding for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
• Tabled discussion of the IDEMIA livescan services for the Seward County Sheriff’s Department so Armstead can confirm its compliance with Nebraska statutes.
