Under this draft, a large solar farm, battery storage site, or data center cannot be built anywhere in Sellersburg unless the Town Council first votes to allow it on that specific piece of land, after public hearings. Today, large solar farms are allowed automatically on farm-zoned land, and the rules say nothing at all about data centers or big battery sites.
The draft creates two new zoning districts:
- Solar Energy District (SD-S) for solar farms and large battery storage.
- Data Center District (SD-D) for data centers.
No land within Town is in either districts on day one. A developer must ask for it, project by project, and go through a very public process involving the Plan Commission and Town Council. Even if a project meets every rule, the Council can still say no.
Why the Town is doing this…
Solar farms, large battery sites and data centers bring impacts that ordinary businesses don’t: constant noise, glare, fire risk, heavy demand on power and water, and the question of who cleans up when they close. Our current rules weren’t written for them in mind and there are several gaps. By establishing these specific zones, it allows full over-site for these types of projects by the Town and the general public.
State law lets towns set their own solar rules, and Sellersburg is choosing stricter ones than the state’s optional defaults. State law also says a town can’t simply ban new power projects for more than a year. So instead of a ban, this draft sets a clear, demanding path: projects can apply, but they must meet tough standards and win the Council vote.
By developing specific zoning standards for all of these uses, instead of simply adding definitions into our UDO, the community can better control these type uses throughout the Town.
The process — and where you get a say…
Every project needs two separate approvals, each with a public hearing. Neighbors within half a mile get notice by mail — far wider than usual.
- Meeting with Town staff before anything is filed.
- Neighborhood meeting. The developer must hold a public meeting near the site and mail notice at least 10 days ahead to every owner within half a mile.
- Full application. It must include sound, glare and traffic studies; drainage and farmland reports; visual simulations from at least four public viewpoints; a property-value study by an appraiser the Town picks; a cost-and-revenue study for the Town; and a cleanup plan.
- Rezoning (zone map change). Plan Commission hearing where they will make either a “favorable”, “un-favorable”, or “no recommendation” the Town Council. Since it is an ordinance, the Town Council will then have two meetings where they will vote on this. The Council weighs effects on nearby homes, property values, lost farmland, the developer’s track record, whether roads and utilities can handle it without cost to residents — and public comment.
- Detailed site plan. A second Plan Commission hearing. The plan must meet every standard.
- Before any digging: cleanup bond, road agreement, insurance, state permits and fire department approvals must all be in hand.
- After it opens: new sound and glare tests within 90 days, problems fixed within 60 days, and a yearly report to the Town.
If construction hasn’t started within two years of site plan approval (subject to extensions state law allows), the approval expires and the Town can move to return the land to its old zoning.
How it protects you: solar farms…
Solar farms must be at least 40 acres, sit well back from homes, and be screened from view. Distances below are measured from the panels or equipment to your home or property line and apply only to neighbors who haven’t signed a deal with the project.
| What | How far from it |
| Your home | 500 ft (panels and fence) |
| Schools, churches, parks, child care, hospitals, nursing homes | 500 ft from their property line |
| Residential neighborhoods | 300 ft |
| Your property line | 150 ft |
| Public roads | 100 ft |
| Inverters and transformers (the noisy parts) | 750 ft from your home; 300 ft from your property line |
| Streams and wetlands | 100 ft; nothing in a flood zone |
Your choice, not theirs. A neighbor can agree in writing to a smaller property-line setback. The 500-ft home setback can only be reduced — to no less than 250 ft — with that homeowner’s own recorded written consent. Nothing else can be waived.
What it requires:
- Screening: a 100-ft-deep buffer with a 4-ft earth berm and two staggered rows of evergreens that must block at least 80% of the view within three years. If your house sits higher than the panels, the screen must work from your ground floor. Dead trees must be replaced.
- Height: panels no taller than 15 ft.
- Noise: no more than 45 decibels at your property line — roughly the hum of a refrigerator — tested before and after construction.
- Glare: a professional glare study; no blinding glare at any home, road or Clark Regional Airport approach; anti-reflective panels required.
- Drainage and farmland: field tile surveyed before construction, any damage repaired within 60 days, topsoil stays on site, underground cables buried at least 4 ft on farmland, and at most 70% of the project area fenced for panels.
- Ground cover: grass or native, pollinator-friendly plants under the panels, with weed control and limits on herbicide. Sheep grazing is allowed.
- Lighting: only at gates and equipment, aimed down, motion-activated, never shining onto neighbors.
- Construction hours: 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Monday–Saturday; pile driving only 8 a.m.–6 p.m. weekdays; no Sundays or holidays.
How it protects you: battery storage safety standards…
Large battery sites (over 1 megawatt) get the strictest distances in the ordinance and must satisfy the fire department before they can be built.
- Distance: 1,000 ft from any neighbor’s home, school, church, park or residential neighborhood; 500 ft from property lines and roads.
- Location: never in a flood zone or a wellhead protection area that protects drinking water.
- Safety equipment: certified battery systems (UL 9540, with fire-test data handed to the fire department), 24-hour remote monitoring, automatic shutdown, fire detection and suppression, explosion control and spill containment.
- Fire department sign-off before construction on a hazard analysis; an emergency plan that includes air monitoring and how neighbors will be notified, sheltered or evacuated; water supply; and at least two access points.
- Training: the owner must train our firefighters before opening and every year after.
- State approval: Indiana Department of Homeland Security approval is also required. If a state fire rule conflicts with the Town’s rules on how the system is designed or built, the state rule controls; all the Town’s other rules still apply.
These same rules apply to batteries at a data center.
How it protects you: data centers standards…
Data centers use large amounts of power and water and can hum around the clock, so the draft keeps them at least 1,000 ft from homes, with no exceptions. This covers cloud, AI and cryptocurrency-mining facilities, not ordinary office server rooms.
| What | How far from the building or equipment |
| Any neighbor’s home | 1,000 ft |
| Residential neighborhoods | 1,000 ft |
| Schools, churches, parks, child care, hospitals, nursing homes | 1,000 ft from their property line |
| Public roads | 300 ft |
| Any other property line | 200 ft |
| Parking and driveways | 100 ft from property lines (except entrances) |
Unlike solar, none of these distances can be waived or reduced — not even with a neighbor’s consent. Sites must be at least 50 acres, with no more than half paved or built on.
Noise — the biggest concern with data centers:
- No more than 50 decibels by day and 45 at night (10 p.m.–7 a.m.) at the property line.
- Limits on low-frequency rumble and no steady whine or tone.
- If an area is already louder than these limits, the data center can’t make it louder.
- Cooling fans and generators go on the far side of the site from homes, behind sound walls if needed.
- A permanent sound monitor near the closest home, with data sent to the Town monthly.
- After any complaint, the Town can order a sound test. The Town picks the expert; the owner pays.
Backup generators may run only during power outages, grid emergencies, or testing — and testing is limited to 10 a.m.–4 p.m. on weekdays, no more than 4 hours per generator per month. They need state air permits and a yearly run log.
Water: the water and sewer utilities must confirm in writing they can serve the data center without reducing service to existing customers. Cooling must use closed-loop or air-based systems that recirculate rather than consume large amounts of water, unless the Council accepts another system in writing.
Power: the electric utility must state the data center’s peak demand and any new lines or substations needed. The data center can’t exceed that demand without new Town approval and a public hearing — the same goes for adding generators or growing the building more than 10%.
Looks and light: a 150-ft buffer with a 6-ft berm and three rows of evergreens growing to a 20-ft screen; height capped at 45 ft; long walls broken up in muted earth tones; rooftop equipment hidden from view; warm-toned, downward lighting, with non-security lights off from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Safety: a security plan goes to Sellersburg Police and a fire plan must be approved in writing by the servicing fire protection district before construction.
Protecting taxpayers and the land for the long term…
The developer, not residents, pays for review, road damage and eventual cleanup — and the money for cleanup must be set aside before construction starts.
- Cleanup guaranteed up front. Before building, the owner must post a bond or letter of credit worth 125% of an engineer’s full removal-and-restoration cost, with no credit for scrap value. It’s updated every five years.
- What counts as abandoned: 12 months in a row without producing or storing power (or, for a data center, without operating). The owner then has 12 months to remove everything — panels, batteries, generators, fuel, fences, cables, foundations and roads — down to at least 4 ft below ground, and return farmland to farming condition. Batteries and hazardous materials must be properly recycled or disposed of.
- If they walk away, the Town can enter, remove the facility, use the bond and place a lien for any remaining costs.
- Roads: a road-use agreement with a bond, plus video of the roads before and after construction, so damage gets repaired at the developer’s expense.
- Review costs: the developer deposits $25,000 (solar) or $50,000 (data center) to pay for the Town’s independent engineers, sound experts, fire safety reviewers, appraiser and lawyers. Unused money is refunded with an itemized accounting.
- Insurance: at least $5 million (solar) or $10 million (data center) per incident, naming the Town as additional insured.
- New owners inherit everything. If the project is sold, every commitment, condition and bond carries over.
- Transparency: the Town won’t sign any non-disclosure agreement that limits the public’s right to records and open meetings. Owners must report to the Town every year on complaints, incidents and, for data centers, power, water, generator hours and sound data.
- Enforcement: each day a rule is broken counts as a separate violation.
What this ordinance can’t do…
The draft is strong, but state law sets some limits we can’t override. Residents should know them:
- It isn’t a ban. State law limits a local ban on certain power projects to one year, so the ordinance regulates instead. A project that meets the rules can apply — though the Council still decides whether to rezone the proposed parcel.
- Some projects are exempt from local zoning. Facilities of a regulated public utility and projects in a state-designated energy production zone fall outside Town zoning, to the extent state law exempts them.
- Electric rates aren’t the Town’s call. Utility rates and service are regulated by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
- Applications already filed and completed before the ordinance takes effect follow the rules in place when they were filed, as state law requires. The Town has NO active applications, nor have we have been contacted by a developer of any solar farms, data centers, or battery storage facilities about locating to the Town.
- Other power plants (not solar or wind) are handled separately: allowed only in the Heavy Industrial (I2) district by special exception, and they must meet the same data center setbacks, noise, lighting and safety rules.
Key terms and how to get involved
| Term (definition) | What it means |
| Nonparticipating property | Land whose owner has not signed a lease or deal with the project. Most protections are written for these neighbors. |
| Protected use | Schools, child care centers, churches, parks, hospitals, assisted living and nursing homes. |
| Setback | The minimum distance between the project and your home, property line or road. |
| Decibels (dBA) | How loud a sound is. 45 dBA is quiet background hum; normal conversation is about 60. |
| BESS | Battery energy storage system — large banks of batteries that store electricity. |
| Zone map change | A Town Council vote to change what’s allowed on a specific piece of land. |
How to have your say:
- Attend the Plan Commission public hearing on this ordinance. Monday, November 16, 2026, at 5:00 p.m., at Sellersburg Town Hall.
- Send written comments to the Plan Commission before the hearing via info@sellersburg.org with Attn: Plan Commission