Palo, in Linn County, Iowa, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on June 15, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
The record reads: "Google abandoned unincorporated Linn County and is pursuing annexation into the City of Palo, Iowa (pop. 1,407) to avoid the county's strict data center zoning. Palo held a town hall on March 25 where residents pressed city leaders for… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | enacted | June 15, 2026 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Linn County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Elsewhere in Linn County
Iowa context
Iowa has 35 documented local actions across 32 jurisdictions in this snapshot. There is no statewide restriction, incentive rollback, or large-load tariff on record for Iowa in this snapshot.
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.