Charlestown Imposes Data Center Moratorium

Charlestown’s Common Council voted on August 3 to impose a temporary moratorium on new data center construction after a contentious local fight over a proposed QLEVR facility near homes in Shadow Lake Business Park. The moratorium was taken up as Ordinance 2026-OR-12 at the council’s regular meeting at City Hall, according to the city agenda. The move followed a July 20 recommendation from the city’s Advisory Plan Commission, which had approved QLEVR’s development plan with conditions and then separately urged the council to pause new petitions. City records show the council was told the moratorium was intended to give Charlestown time to revise its development rules before more applications arrive. ### Why did Charlestown move after one project was already approved? The July 20 Advisory Plan Commission meeting centered on QLEVR’s proposed 55,000-square-foot data center on 12 acres in Shadow Lake Business Park, a privately owned site in Charlestown. Louisville Public Media reported before that hearing that the proposal had drawn outcry from nearby residents, and city documents identify QLEVR as the petitioner. (cityofcharlestown.com) The commission voted 4-3 to approve the development plan with stipulations, then unanimously recommended a one-year moratorium on any new data-center petitions, according to a July 21 memo from Building Commissioner Tony Jackson to the council. That memo said the recommendation would be presented at the council’s August 3 meeting. ### What exactly is the QLEVR project? (lpm.org) QLEVR is proposing a 3-megawatt data center in Charlestown with an estimated $105 million in real-property improvements and another $100 million in personal property, according to an economic impact summary filed with the city. The same filing says the project would employ an estimated 20 full-time workers with an average annual wage of $76,266 and generate an estimated $2.14 million in annual property taxes. (cityofcharlestown.com) WHAS11 reported in May that Mayor Treva Hodges said the company had purchased 12 acres in Shadow Lake Industrial Park and filed for a development plan review. The station said Hodges told residents the company was not receiving local tax breaks, abatements or incentives from the city. ### What were residents and officials worried about? (cityofcharlestown.com) Residents raised concerns about noise, water use, emergency response and environmental effects during the public process, according to local reporting and the plan commission follow-up memo. Citizen Portal’s summary of the July 20 meeting said speakers questioned backup generators, battery fires, wastewater effects and wildlife impacts, while the city memo listed conditions requiring an environmental impact study, wastewater testing and emergency-response training for local police and fire personnel. (whas11.com) Tony Jackson’s July 21 memo also said the approved plan requires the building to be placed as far as possible from residences, with chillers, generators and uninterrupted power supplies positioned at the back and screened by an acoustic wall. The same memo requires an 8-foot earthen berm, a 25-foot evergreen buffer, pre- and post-blast surveys, and company-funded electrical upgrades that cannot be passed on to residential ratepayers. (citizenportal.ai) ### Did the moratorium stop QLEVR’s project? The July 21 memo said no. Jackson told the council that the QLEVR development plan had already been approved and that enforcement of the stipulations and construction compliance would fall to his office. He wrote that the state had provided its design release and that the city would issue the appropriate permits after requesting the required environmental impact study before groundbreaking. (cityofcharlestown.com) Louisville Public Media also reported in July that confirmed data centers already in the works would not be affected by new zoning changes under discussion in Southern Indiana communities. ### What happens next in Charlestown? The August 3 Common Council agenda listed the Advisory Plan Commission’s moratorium recommendation and Ordinance 2026-OR-12, described as a temporary moratorium on construction of data centers, as new business for the meeting at 304 Main Cross Street. (cityofcharlestown.com) The city’s public calendar said that meeting was open to the public and livestreamed on the city’s Facebook page. (lpm.org) Charlestown officials have said the purpose of the pause is to allow time to update local development rules before additional data-center petitions are considered. QLEVR’s already approved project now moves through permitting and compliance review with the Building Department under the conditions set out in Jackson’s July 21 memo. (cityofcharlestown.com) (cityofcharlestown.com)