Linn County Sets Application Fees for Data Center Projects

Fees will be based on project size to cover county review costs.

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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Linn County, Iowa has implemented a new fee structure for data center development projects in unincorporated areas of the county. The base application fee is $60,000, with an additional $20,000 charged for every 100 project acres. These fees will be used to cover staff time and other costs associated with reviewing data center applications.

Why it matters

As data centers continue to be a growing industry, Linn County is proactively putting in place a fee structure to ensure the county can adequately review and evaluate large-scale data center projects. The fees will help the county recover costs related to application review, consultants, and other resources needed to assess the feasibility and impact of these projects.

The details

The new fee structure, approved by the Linn County Board of Supervisors, will apply to developers seeking to rezone sites for large data center projects in unincorporated areas of the county. In addition to the base $60,000 fee, there will be an additional $20,000 charge for every 100 project acres. The fees are intended to cover staff time and other costs associated with reviewing the applications, which must include a major site plan, development timeline, site layout, and estimated job creation. Developers will also be required to provide a third-party water study to demonstrate sufficient water supply without adverse impacts.

  • The Linn County Board of Supervisors approved the new fee structure on February 25, 2026.

The players

Linn County Board of Supervisors

The governing body of Linn County, Iowa that approved the new data center application fee structure.

Charlie Nichols

The Linn County Planning and Development Director who stated the fees will allow the county to increase funding based on the increased complexity of data center projects.

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What they’re saying

“'All data center projects will require a base amount of evaluation by staff and possibly the hiring of consultants. Linking the fee to the size of the project allows us to increase our funding based on the increased complexity of the project.'”

— Charlie Nichols, Linn County Planning and Development Director (The Gazette)

What’s next

The new fee structure will go into effect immediately for all future data center development applications in unincorporated Linn County.

The takeaway

Linn County is taking a proactive approach to managing the growth of the data center industry by implementing an application fee structure that scales with project size. This will help the county recover costs associated with thoroughly reviewing these complex projects and ensure they have the necessary resources to evaluate the feasibility and impact of data center developments.