Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
For Klickitat County Commissioners, yesterday was data center day. In the morning workshop session, the community got its first look at the proposed data center ordinance, and the formal afternoon session featured the proposed interim zoning controls.
In between, during the post-lunch open comment period, 26 people testified in favor of a one-year moratorium on data centers. Here’s a sample of the comments:
“Data centers threaten our security, privacy and safety/Once these facilities are built, the impact could be with Klickitat County for decades/Those data centers do not benefit ordinary people/Property value and property tax issues, harmful algae blooms/We are all losers in this game/Data center, you can’t throw it out like a pot of chili and start over. Once it’s there, it’s there/Data centers have nothing to lose. We have everything to lose.”
And one person wondered why Klickitat County wasn’t joining its neighbors:
“There are now 10 Washington state counties and over 15 cities that have passed at least a six-month moratorium on data center construction. Every county around Klickitat has now passed a pause, including those in Oregon.”
Chair Ron Ihrig reported this result after consulting the county’s prosecuting attorney:
“I asked the PA again yesterday, ‘Can we deny data centers?’ Because I hear a lot of people, ‘No data centers.’ Let’s get past that step. State of Washington doesn’t allow us to deny them. We can only limit it with zoning and conditions, so you have to zone it properly.”
Ultimately, the county enacted neither a moratorium, nor an interim ordinance, but did decide to forward the proposed interim ordinance to Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Cranston for a full legal review.