Georgetown Wants to Ban Data Centers. Price County Wants to Regulate Them. Park Falls Already Did.

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Georgetown wants to ban data centers. The Town Board discussed preparing a resolution that would prohibit them within town borders — and a second resolution to ban Flock cameras too. Meanwhile, the Price County Land Use Committee is taking the opposite approach: drafting regulations to allow data centers and battery storage under strict conditions, not outlaw them. And Park Falls already passed its own data center zoning ordinance in July. Three levels of government in the same county, three completely different philosophies on how to handle the same emerging technology.

TLDR: Price County has no data center proposals — but three governments are already writing rules for them. Georgetown wants a ban, the county wants regulations, and Park Falls already passed zoning. The county’s approach reflects a deliberate strategy: regulate, don’t ban, to avoid losing local control to the state.

Last updated: July 26, 2026
By Price County Fun Editorial Team | Price County, Wisconsin

Three Approaches, One County

Last updated: July 2026

By Price County Fun Editorial Team | Price County, Wisconsin

The debate over data centers and battery storage has arrived in Price County — not because anyone is proposing to build one, but because local officials are scrambling to get rules in place before someone does. The result is a three-way split in how local government thinks about the problem.

Park Falls moved first. The Common Council passed three ordinances at its July 13 meeting creating a Manufacturing Data Center (MDC) zoning district , the first in the area. The ordinances define what a data center is, where it can go, and how the city can amend the rules. County Zoning Administrator Evan Pickett confirmed at the July 23 Land Use Committee meeting that Park Falls passed the ordinance. “There was one individual that had some concerns but nothing, no big crowds,” Pickett told the committee.

Georgetown is going the opposite direction. At its July 21 board meeting, the Town Board discussed preparing a resolution that would ban data centers within town borders entirely. They also discussed a second resolution to ban Flock cameras , the automated license plate readers already operating in Phillips. Georgetown opted out of county zoning in the early 2000s, so the town writes its own land use rules.

The county is splitting the difference. At the July 23 Land Use Committee meeting, Pickett and Corporation Counsel Nick outlined their strategy: draft ordinance amendments covering both data centers and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) , but don’t ban anything. “We don’t want to outright ban it because those are the things that when we do that, then the state takes away local control because they say you can’t play nice and we’re going to do it for you,” Nick told the committee.

Why the County Is Regulating, Not Banning

The county’s approach is rooted in a specific reading of Wisconsin law. When local governments pass outright bans on land uses the state considers legitimate, the legislature can , and has , stepped in to preempt local control. The county’s legal counsel, von Briesen & Roper, S.C. (recommended by the Wisconsin Counties Association), is drafting ordinance language that would regulate data centers and BESS as conditional uses rather than prohibiting them.

**The strategy is to treat data centers the same way the county treats gravel pits: write strict conditions, require a Conditional Use Permit, and retain the ability to deny or revoke if those conditions aren’t met.** The county saw how this works in real time at the same July 23 meeting, when it denied a dog boarding kennel permit on a 0.8-acre lot because the 100-foot setback requirement for animal structures couldn’t be met on such a small parcel.

There’s also a practical reason the county isn’t rushing. “We don’t have the electricity,” Nick told the committee. “It takes a lot to do that.” Price County isn’t on any data center developer’s shortlist , the power infrastructure simply isn’t there. But BESS facilities, which are essentially large battery banks that store energy overnight and distribute it during peak demand hours, are more plausible for a rural area. Those, Nick said, are “probably the higher concern.”

The BESS Factor: What’s More Likely Than a Data Center

Most of the public conversation about data centers focuses on server farms , the massive facilities powering AI applications. But the county is more worried about Battery Energy Storage Systems.

A BESS facility is a building full of industrial-scale batteries. It harvests energy during low-demand hours and feeds it back into the grid during peak demand, helping power plants avoid ramping up and down. **The county’s zoning staff described BESS as “a huge building with batteries” , more likely to appear in a rural area than a full data center, because it doesn’t require the same power infrastructure.**

Nick used the example of Minocqua, where the population swings from 4,000 in winter to 25,000 in summer, to explain why BESS matters. Power plants have to size for peak demand, which means they run at well below capacity most of the time. Battery storage could smooth that out , but it also means a large industrial facility in a rural township, with all the land use conflicts that come with it.

The Georgetown Ban: A Different Calculus

Georgetown’s approach , banning data centers outright , reflects a different set of priorities. The town had 164 residents at the 2000 census and opted out of county zoning two decades ago, meaning it writes and enforces its own land use rules. The Town Board’s July 21 discussion about banning data centers was brief: the minutes record that “the Town Board discussed having a resolution/ordinance prepared that will not allow any Data Centers within the boundaries of Georgetown.” An additional resolution may ban Flock cameras.

The Flock camera ban is notable because it puts Georgetown at odds with the Price County Sheriff’s Office, which operates two Flock cameras in Phillips. Sheriff Brian Schmidt has defended the cameras as a tool for solving crimes. The Georgetown board, led by Chairperson Ginny Strobl, appears ready to bar them from town roads , a move that would test whether a town can override a county sheriff’s surveillance deployment within its borders.

**Georgetown’s stance is straightforward: if we don’t want it, we can say no. The county’s stance is more cautious: if we say no, the state might say yes for us.** Both positions have merit, but they’re heading in opposite directions.

The Timeline

The county’s ordinance drafting process has a clear schedule, outlined at the July 23 meeting:

  • September 2026: Rough draft presented to the Land Use Committee
  • October 2026: Public hearing at the committee level
  • November 2026: Final vote at the County Board

The county wants to bundle the data center and BESS ordinances with other amendments , including a junk and salvage ordinance update , because ordinance amendments require publications and registered mailings that are “relatively expensive,” according to Nick. Tying multiple amendments together saves money.

Park Falls is already done. Georgetown’s resolutions haven’t been drafted yet. The county’s ordinance is months from a vote. But all three are responding to the same pressure: the technology is moving faster than the zoning code, and local governments would rather write the rules before a developer shows up than after.

What This Means for Residents

If you live in an unincorporated township that participates in county zoning , which is 12 of the 17 towns , the county’s ordinance will eventually cover your area. The five towns that opted out (Ogema, Hill, Kennan, Catawba, and Georgetown) write their own rules. If you live in Park Falls, Phillips, Prentice, Kennan, or Catawba, your city or village has its own zoning authority.

For Georgetown residents, the proposed data center ban means the town would reject any such proposal outright , but it also means the town, not the county, would handle any legal challenge from a developer. That’s the trade-off of opting out of county zoning: more autonomy, but less legal firepower.

For everyone else, the county’s ordinance will determine whether a data center or BESS facility could be built near you , and under what conditions. The public hearing in October will be the moment to weigh in.

The Bigger Picture

Price County’s data center debate mirrors what’s happening across rural Wisconsin. Small communities are watching the AI boom drive data center construction into secondary markets, and they’re trying to figure out whether to welcome the tax revenue, regulate the impacts, or shut the door entirely.

**The county’s bet is that regulation preserves more options than prohibition.** A ban can be overridden by the state. A well-written ordinance can’t , it becomes the standard a developer has to meet. The dog kennel denial at the July 23 meeting was proof of concept: when the ordinance is specific enough, the conditions do the work, and the committee can say no without saying “we don’t want this here.”

Georgetown’s bet is simpler: we’re small, we don’t want it, and we have the authority to say so. Whether that holds up if a developer with deep pockets and state law on their side comes calling is a question the town hasn’t had to answer yet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is anyone proposing to build a data center in Price County?

No. All three levels of government . Park Falls, Georgetown, and the county , are acting proactively. There is no public record of a specific data center proposal anywhere in Price County.

What is a BESS facility?

A Battery Energy Storage System is a building containing large-scale batteries that store energy during low-demand periods and feed it back into the grid during peak demand. County zoning staff say BESS is more likely to appear in a rural area than a full data center.

Which towns are covered by county zoning?

The county has general zoning jurisdiction in 12 of 17 unincorporated towns. Five towns opted out: Ogema, Hill, Kennan, Catawba, and Georgetown. Incorporated cities and villages (Park Falls, Phillips, Prentice, Kennan, Catawba) have their own zoning authority.

Can Georgetown ban data centers if it opted out of county zoning?

Yes. Towns that opt out of county zoning can write and enforce their own zoning ordinances. However, an outright ban could face legal challenges under Wisconsin’s Act 67, which requires local boards to grant Conditional Use Permits if a developer meets all codified standards. The county’s legal counsel recommends regulation over prohibition for this reason.

When will the county’s ordinance be voted on?

The target timeline is a rough draft in September 2026, a public hearing in October, and a County Board vote in November 2026.

See also: our guide to free camping in Wisconsin

See also: what makes Price County communities special

See also: our guide to Price County public records

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