Brown County
Brown County, South Dakota. Status: Adopted Ordinance.
Brown County adopted Ordinance #303 on November 4, 2025, effective November 24, 2025, which added Chapter 4.38 to the county zoning ordinance and allows data centers only by conditional use in the Heavy Industrial and Agriculture Preservation districts. The hearing draft that the county posted requires a one-mile distance from homes, schools, religious institutions, and public parks, noise limits of 55 dBA by day and 45 dBA at night at homes, and written utility approval, but it sets no rules on cooling, generator testing, or decommissioning.
- Status
- Adopted Ordinance
- County
- Brown County
- Rating
- 4 of 10 Core Protections addressed (Partial coverage), 2 at the best standard, 20 of 104 points
- Where data centers are allowed
- Conditional use in the Heavy Industrial and Agriculture Preservation districts
- Ordinance
- No. 303
- Last verified
- November 12, 2026
Key Milestones
- November 24, 2025: Ordinance #303 took effect.
- November 4, 2025: The Board of County Commissioners adopted Ordinance #303, which added Chapter 4.38, Data Centers.
- October 21, 2025: The Board of County Commissioners held a public hearing on the data center amendment to Title 4.
Sources
- Brown County, Chapter 4.38 Data Centers, hearing draft posted by the county (the rated text)
- Brown County Commission, Notice of Adoption of Ordinance #303 (Aberdeen Insider legal notice)
- Brown County Commission, general meeting minutes, November 4, 2025
- Brown County Commission, Notice of Hearing, amendment to Title 4 (Aberdeen Insider legal notice)
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