Temporary Moratorium Regulations
Draft Regulations for Public Comment
February 2026
Background
On June 17, 2025, the Story County Board of Supervisors passed Resolution #25-97, Establishing a Temporary Moratorium on the Acceptance of Applications and/or Issuance of Permits for Digital Asset Mining, Cryptocurrency Operations, Data Processing Centers and/or Battery/Energy Storage Solutions on properties located in unincorporated Story County, putting in place a temporary moratorium expiring on or before December 31, 2025. Resolution #25-97 included the ability of the Story County Board of Supervisors to adopt a resolution extending the moratorium until March 31, 2026, if more time was needed by the Story County Planning and Development Department to complete their review and make a recommendation to the Story County Planning and Zoning Commission and Story County Board of Supervisors. Resolution #26-36 adopted by the Story County Board of Supervisors on November 25, 2025, authorized this one-time extension. To develop the proposed regulations, County staff received technical assistance from the Great Plains Institute and participated in NACo’s Rural Energy Academy Peer Exchange.
Proposed Modifications to the Code of Ordinances of Story County, Iowa - Land Development Regulations
The following pages outline the proposed changes to the following Chapters of the Land Development Regulations:
- CHAPTER 85: GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS
- CHAPTER 86: DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS
- CHAPTER 88: GENERAL SITE PLANNING STANDARDS
- CHAPTER 90: CONDITIONAL USES - Revisions to existing regulations for Commercial Wind Energy Conversion Systems (C-WECS) and Commercial Solar Energy Systems (C-SES) and the addition of regulations for Utility-Scale Battery Energy Storage System (UBESS), Cryptocurrency Data Center or Cryptocurrency Mining or Production Installations associated with a Data Center (CDC), and Data Center (DC)
How to provide feedback?
The proposed regulations are scheduled to be reviewed by the Story County Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, and the Board of Supervisors in March. Agendas for the meetings will be available on the County’s website at www.storycountyiowa.gov. Any citizen may offer comments and suggestions about the draft regulations by attending the public meetings, writing the Planning and Development office, calling 515-382-7245, or by emailing pzweb@storycountyiowa.gov prior to the meetings.
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