Sioux City officials clarify data center label on map ahead of stormwater study vote

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - A mislabeled map tied to a preliminary engineering study has raised questions about a potential data center in Sioux City’s Morningside neighborhood.

Sioux City Council is being asked to approve a $67,204 agreement with HR Green, a civil engineering firm, to conduct a preliminary engineering study. The study covers seven different areas, including a 720-acre parcel off Highway 141.

On the map, that parcel is labeled as a “proposed data center” location.

What city officials say

Thomas Pingel, Sioux City’s Public Works Director, said the maps are produced by the city’s economic development team and are intended to identify potential future developments, including data centers. City Council member Craig Bernstein said there is no discussion about a data center and that the map is only identifying a potential area.

Sioux City Economic and Community Development Director Marty Dougherty, whose department provided the maps, said via phone that the parcel should not have been labeled that way.

Dougherty said the designation stems from the city’s Capital Improvement Project, created five years ago, in which different parcels of land were identified for various development ideas. The Highway 141 parcel was flagged as a potential data center location due to its proximity to power lines. He said there are no plans for a data center at this time.

“This is an effort I think on the part of the city council to say let’s plan ahead a little bit. Let’s look at areas that are going to grow in the future and maybe instead of a piecemeal property-by-property approach we find a way to build some regional storm ponds that would serve better the pace of development,” said Dougherty.

The Public Works Director says the city is picking out the best spots for water basins now, before developers start building. By doing this, the city can use money from those developers to build “strategic basins.” This means as Sioux City grows, the infrastructure to handle heavy rain is already planned out, rather than the city trying to play catch-up after a neighborhood floods.

Who owns the land

According to neighbors and Woodbury County’s property search engine, Beacon, the land is owned by Peterson Farms LTD, belonging to John and Karen Peterson. A family member of the owners declined to comment but said it has been approximately two years since they last spoke with the city about the use of the land. The family said they plan to farm the land for the foreseeable future.

What the study will do

The preliminary engineering study will lay the groundwork for a Regional Storm Water Detention Basin Program. The study will map where to build regional storm water basins to prevent local flooding, protect infrastructure, and coordinate water management as the city grows.

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