USA – IOWA Trends and Developments Contributed by: David M. Erickson, Christopher S. Talcott, Amy S. Montgomery and Shannon M.H. Hasse, Dentons Davis Brown PC
Conclusion As data centre developers’ demands for land reach a fever pitch, Iowa’s ample supply of renewable energy, a reliable power grid, avail- able water and land resources, and low cost of doing business set the state apart as an ideal landscape for data centre development. While Iowa has historically shown support for data cen- tre development through a favourable incentive environment, concerns over perceived resource depletion and recently passed legislation pose a drought risk to Iowa’s once fertile data cen- tre fields. As a result, while the silicon prairie remains ripe for development and state and local governments continue to support development within the state, data centre developers may face additional challenges related to local gov- ernment approval and availability of incentives.
the inclusion of “vested rights” language within their development agreements with cities. Such language may provide that the developer has a vested (or legally protected) right to develop and operate the project based on existing zoning and permitting rules, even if such rules change after the project has been initiated. Expedited review Many developers negotiate for inclusion of expe- dited review rights in their agreements with local governments. Typically, these rights ensure that the governing body will expedite their review of any issues with infrastructure or other matters in the case of an outage, emergency or other event. Typically associated with this right is a provision that the local government will assign sufficient personnel to the subject matter to allow for the prompt performance of inspections, maintenance, repairs and other concerns. Equal treatment Data centre developers are often at the mercy of city officials as relates to many development matters, approvals and timing. This can expose developers to unfair treatment in the form of increased fees or other actions taken by a local government that target data centre developers and take advantage of the project’s reliance on city approvals. To mitigate this risk, developers often negotiate provisions into development agreements that prohibit the implementation of project/developer-targeted actions, such as cer- tain fees, tax increases or zoning changes, and instead require that such actions apply equally throughout the subject jurisdiction.
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