The Starke County Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, that prohibits commercial data centers in the county's unincorporated areas, WKVI reported. The ban covers every area under the jurisdiction of the Starke County Plan Commission and does not reach inside the town limits of Knox, North Judson or Hamlet.

The vote came five days after the county's Plan Commission sent the measure forward with a favorable recommendation. Unlike the temporary moratoriums several Indiana counties have adopted this year, the Starke County measure amends the county zoning ordinance itself, defining commercial data centers and prohibiting them in the unincorporated county.

What the ordinance covers

The prohibition reaches beyond conventional data centers. WKVI reported that it also bars cryptocurrency mining facilities and server farms, and that the definition the Plan Commission reviewed covers "large-scale data centers, cryptocurrency mining facilities, and server farms" while excluding certain telecommunications infrastructure and internal information technology rooms that meet specified requirements.

The ordinance also targets the infrastructure that typically accompanies these facilities. As the station described it, the text prohibits certain cooling systems that consume large amounts of water, along with electrical substations and battery storage facilities built primarily to serve the prohibited uses. Certain smaller computer rooms and equipment used by public utilities and telecommunications providers are exempt.

The ordinance cites three concerns: the volume of water these facilities can use, the demands they place on the electrical grid, and the noise they generate in operation, according to WKVI.

How it reached the commissioners

The measure began at the Plan Commission, which held a public hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, under a public notice listing two items: Resolution 2026-PC-15-R, the findings of fact supporting the change, and Resolution 2026-PC-15, which amends the Starke County Zoning Ordinance "to Define and Prohibit Commercial Data Centers."

At that meeting the board first heard comment on the findings of fact and adopted Resolution 2026-PC-15-R, then took public comment on the zoning amendment itself and voted to forward it to the commissioners for final approval, WKVI reported. A speaker at the hearing said the findings were built from information gathered at public meetings going back to 2025, along with research by planning staff, legal counsel and board members. The recommendation passed six to zero, with two members absent, the station later reported.

Final adoption rested with the three-member Board of Commissioners. The commissioners' Oct. 19 agenda lists the board as President Michael VanDeMark, Vice President Charles Chesak and Member Donald Binkley, with County Attorney Justin Schramm.

Part of a statewide pattern

Starke County's decision lands amid a wave of local restrictions across Indiana. Halfway through 2026, Indiana University's Environmental Resilience Institute counted 11 counties with data center ordinances, at least 17 with temporary moratoriums and two, Marshall and Cass, that had banned new data centers altogether, WFYI reported in July; together, nearly a third of the state's counties. The pauses have continued since. In August, Wabash County's commissioners adopted an ordinance halting permits for data center projects in the county's unincorporated areas, stating that its zoning ordinance "fails to provide any regulations related to data center projects." That moratorium lasts until the county amends its zoning rules or for 18 months, whichever comes first. Starke County took the other path: rather than pausing to write siting rules, it prohibited the use outright.

What Happens Next

The ordinance takes effect after its required legal publication, according to WKVI. The county has not yet announced a publication or effective date.

Sources