Johnson County, IA Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Crypto Mining Rules (2026)

Ordinance 10-10-24-01, the same October 2024 amendment that revised auxiliary dwelling unit rules, added 'Cryptocurrency mining or production installation' as item 3 of the primary uses listed in Section 8:1.19(A) for the MH Heavy Industrial Zoning District. The MH district is described in the ordinance as intended for only the most intense uses, and Section 8:1.19 states that uses listed in the MH district 'shall only be allowed on properties that are in the MH district unless those uses are specifically allowed in other districts.' Because cryptocurrency mining is not named in any other district's use list, it cannot legally operate anywhere in unincorporated Johnson County outside the land currently zoned MH, alongside auto wrecking, asphalt and concrete recycling, junk and salvage yards, and flammable liquid storage.

Like every MH primary use, a mining installation remains subject to any applicable supplemental conditions in Section 8:1.24 and must clear Site Plan review under Section 8:1.26(A)(1) before a building permit can be issued, since MH is one of the districts requiring that review. Off-street parking is calculated under the Section 8:1.25(C) table; where a use such as cryptocurrency mining is not specifically listed with its own parking ratio, the Zoning Administrator determines the closest comparable use to set the requirement. A property owner wanting to site a mining operation on land zoned anything other than MH, such as AG-T or C-AG, would need to apply for a rezoning to MH through the Board of Supervisors rather than a conditional use permit, since the use is not listed as conditional in any other district.