In a city survey, 87% of the nearly 300 Peosta residents who answered said they do not support any data center development. The developer behind the main proposal told the City Council in September that he wants strict rules too. "Penalize us if we don't adhere to it," Jim Conlan said, as KCRG reported.
The two sides disagree on almost everything else. Still, it tells you where the decision will actually be made. The City of Peosta has said any future data center "must meet the requirements of the ordinance, or the project cannot be built." So the next big moment for Peosta is not a single vote on a single project. It is the slow job of writing that ordinance, line by line. The council has just made room for residents to help write it, and it has given itself more time to do so.
Both sides are asking for the same document
The city survey found broad opposition. Along with the 87% who oppose development, 59% of respondents said they see no benefit in a data center at all, according to the Telegraph Herald.
At the September work session, Conlan put his request in specific terms. "We want you to address the water, the noise, that there'll be no rate increases," he said, according to KCRG. "We're not going away, so if the ordinance takes a year, it takes a year."
Power bills came up as well. KCRG reported that Alliant Energy says developers would need to cover those costs. Kiley Miller of Alliant told the station: "Will data centers raise my energy bill? No, they will not. Will my power be less reliable? No, it will not." Some residents in the room were not convinced. One asked how the council would protect the city if a facility were built and later abandoned.
Council Member Jeff Buxton summed up the council's position plainly: "We don't work for Jim Conlan. We work for the citizens of Peosta."
Water use, noise, utility rates and cleanup if a project fails are exactly the kinds of questions an ordinance can answer in writing. That is why the drafting matters so much.
What the August concept actually describes
In August the city received a concept titled "Peosta Energy and Data Campus." The council discussed it at its August 19, 2026 work session, and the city posted the concept PDF online. The Telegraph Herald reports that Conlan is working with Karis, the real estate company that also pitched a hyperscale data center site near Dubuque Regional Airport. The Peosta plans are for land south of U.S. 20, off Cox Springs Road.
The document itself says it is "preliminary and subject to change." Here is what it lays out:
- Power: an on-site natural gas power plant of 500 to 850 megawatts, built to serve the campus directly
- Buildings: data center buildings built in phases over multiple years, run by an experienced operator who has not been named
- Land: "hundreds of acres" at full buildout, with the exact footprint, setbacks and buffers set during design
- Fuel: natural gas delivered by pipeline from existing lines in the area
- Cooling water: a closed-loop system that is filled once and then recirculated, with ongoing use described as "modest" for a campus this size
- Sound: facilities designed to meet applicable sound ordinance levels
Several of those lines leave the hard numbers open. The concept gives a rough scale of "hundreds of acres" but no exact acreage, no building count and no water volume. The sound standard it promises to meet will depend on whatever level Peosta writes into its ordinance. The city has been clear about where this stands: "This is a concept only." The council "has taken no action, made no commitments, and will not do so until the data center ordinance is completed, and the data center moratorium is expired."
The clock got longer
Peosta first passed its moratorium as a six-month pause. By September, council members said that was not enough time.
"We're three months into the six-month moratorium; we don't even have the outline of an ordinance put together," Buxton said, according to the Telegraph Herald. Mayor Russ Pfab agreed: "My opinion is also that we need to extend this."
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| June 23, 2026 | Council passes a six-month moratorium on data center development |
| August 19, 2026 | Council discusses the Peosta Energy and Data Campus concept at a work session |
| September 2026 | Packed work session; council agrees to hire a consultant |
| Late September 2026 | Council votes unanimously to extend the moratorium |
| October 20, 2026 | Council agrees to form a citizen committee and hire ECIA |
| December 20, 2026 | Original moratorium end date |
| June 18, 2027 | Extended moratorium end date |
Radio Dubuque reported that city leaders decided the months left on the original pause were not enough to work through public feedback and write a highly technical zoning ordinance. If you check the city's Data Center Information page, you may still see December 20, 2026 listed. That page was last updated in August, before the extension vote.
Under the moratorium text, all data center development in Peosta is on hold while the pause is in effect. The council can extend it again or lift it early, depending on how the ordinance is coming along. I'm a REALTOR, not an attorney, so treat this as general information and read the city's documents directly for the exact terms.
Who will help write the rules
The October 20 work session decided who sits at the drafting table. According to the Telegraph Herald, the council agreed to form a citizen committee of around five to seven community members plus two council members. It would include both Peosta residents and people who live outside city limits. Pfab and Council Member John Kraft were absent but sent written support, and the members present agreed unanimously.
"I totally support the idea — I think, primarily, for transparency purposes, so people can trust the process more," Council Member Brian Schatz said in the paper's account. "But also, I think it would bring particular expertise."
The council also agreed to hire East Central Intergovernmental Association. The city will pay ECIA about $6,200 to help draft the ordinance, according to ECIA's proposal. Leaders looked at two other options and chose ECIA for its local perspective and cost. Schatz said a future developer should have to cover that cost, along with anything else the city spends if a project ever moves forward.
Peosta may also follow Dubuque County's lead. Council Member Jim Boxleiter said he'd "like to see that Dubuque County get theirs completed first before we finalize our ordinance," so Peosta could build on the county's work and make its own version "even more strategic." The county's own planning document, approved July 6, 2026, sets a one-year pause on large-scale and hyperscale projects in unincorporated areas. It also calls for drafting an ordinance and holding at least four town halls by October 31, 2026.
How to follow along and weigh in
The city says the ordinance will set standards for water use, water quality, power, noise, air quality, construction and other topics. It also says the process "will include multiple opportunities for public comments before the City Council." Here is how to stay connected:
- Watch for the committee resolution. After the October 20 session, the council said its next step was a resolution creating the citizen committee, expected at its next meeting. After that, the city plans to take applications from community members.
- Check agendas the day before meetings. Peosta posts agendas one day ahead. If you want something added to an agenda, your request must reach the City Administrator or City Clerk by noon on the Thursday before the meeting.
- Call City Hall with questions. The city directs data center questions and comments to Peosta City Hall at (563) 556-8755.
- Read the source documents. The concept PDF, the moratorium text and the survey results are all public.
With the moratorium now running to June 18, 2027, the committee will have months to work on numbers the concept left open, like water volume, sound levels and buffers from nearby properties.
I grew up around here, and I follow what happens off Cox Springs Road as closely as you do. If you'd like help finding these city documents or keeping track of upcoming meeting dates, reach out to Sara Post. Let's Connect.
