Lane County Commissioners may ban staff from signing non-disclosure agreements for companies that want to build data centers or other undisclosed industrial facilities.
The board voted unanimously Tuesday to ask staff to draft an ordinance that would sunset after the upcoming legislative session. It comes about a month after the City of Eugene created a similar policy by administrative order.
“I think it’s very important for us to tell the public that, yes, we absolutely want transparency as well, and this is a way to do that,” said Commissioner Heather Buch.
Commissioner Laurie Trieger said the proposed ordinance would give staff clear direction on their ability to enter into agreements that could hinder public discussion of building on industrial land.
“It’s our obligation to have these discussions in public,” she said.
Commissioner Pat Farr said he understands the debate around data centers involves concerns about electricity, water and privacy.
“That’s not the discussion we’re having today,” he said. “The discussion we’re having today, and correct me if I’m wrong, is should we know who is building on a particular parcel of land?”
Board Chair Ryan Ceniga said he is in favor of banning NDAs in this situation, but he expressed concern about whether it could have unintended consequences for limiting who would make use of industrial land in the county.
“We don’t want this to get in the way of somebody that maybe has a fairly proprietary piece of equipment, and when you hear what the piece of equipment is, then we know who’s wanting to come,” he said.
Community & Economic Development Manager Jason Harris told commissioners that the main way that companies search for properties likely would not be affected.
“It is a common practice for a company to explore options at the statewide level, and through a state agency ask for a set of conditions anywhere in the state,” Harris said. “And that then gets farmed out to individual cities and counties who then respond with details about a parcel they may have. That is often what happens and often the locality does not know who is asking.”
Commissioner David Loveall expressed skepticism about a ban at first, saying that there “is proven benefit” from data centers. He relented when a sunset date was introduced.
Commissioners and staff said they expect the legislature to consider laws around non-disclosure agreements for data center and other industrial developers in the upcoming session, so applying a sunset clause would allow the county to revisit the issue after any changes to state law are made.
