BOCC Meeting for September 30, 2026

The Leavenworth County Board of County Commissioners meeting on September 30, 2026, focused chiefly on proposed zoning regulations for data centers and related development agreements. Residents raised concerns about noise limits, on-site and backup power—including nuclear generation—water use, emissions, project scale, enforceable protections, and the transparency of the planning process. After extensive discussion, the board moved to send the proposed regulations back to the Planning Commission for further review, including data-center size categories, the noise-limit averaging language, and reclamation provisions; the transcript does not clearly capture the vote. The discussion also covered development agreements as a mechanism for project-specific requirements and enforcement. The record mentions the county’s engagement of Cout Rock after a qualifications-based selection process and a $450,000 developer pre-funding of third-party consultant and legal review costs, but no contract award or data-center project approval occurred at this meeting.

The board unanimously authorized the chairperson to sign an Emergency Management Performance Grant agreement. The application was for $102,000, with staff estimating the county would receive about 80–85% of that amount; the grant supports the county’s emergency-management work for the coming fiscal year. Staff was also asked to obtain an updated fiscal analysis addressing project-related costs and possible school-district impacts. Other actions included zoning approvals and appointments, but no additional procurement award was identified.