Ellen Kapitan, Valparaiso City Council At-large

06/07/2026

City Council meets tomorrow, June 8.

06/02/2026

Plan commission meets tonight, June 2, at 5:30p.

05/31/2026

EAB meets tomorrow, 6/1 at 5pm!

05/26/2026

Tonight’s Council meeting agenda!

05/18/2026

Tonight’s the final round of school board interviews 🍏

05/18/2026

There’s still opportunity to submit your feedback on our city Safety Action Plan🚶‍♀️ 🛑🚦⚠️ 🚲

Couldn’t make it to the in-person open house for the Safety Action Plan? The survey is now live!
Review the draft recommendations, explore the meeting materials and share your feedback on the Valparaiso Safety Action Plan by May 22nd at 👉 https://bit.ly/ValpoSAP

05/10/2026

At Monday’s City Council meeting, I am presenting a discussion item on data center zoning in the city of Valparaiso. The Environmental Advisory Board has been at work researching best practices for data center projects and their impacts on surrounding communities. We’ve reviewed ordinances from neighboring communities as well as regulations throughout the nation.

By updating the Unified Development Ordinance specifically to data centers, we are taking a proactive approach to this type of development that sets standards based on our community. In addition, this update promotes environmental stewardship, protects natural resources, and minimizes adverse impacts on air quality, water resources, and surrounding neighborhoods.

Data centers, and their impacts, have been a highly debated item in municipalities throughout the US, as well as in nearby cities.

As outlined, there are key take aways I would like to point out:
-Data centers would belong only in “Heavy Industrial Zoning”
-Developers would have to provide the following in their application:
* Verification of utility capacity. This means they have to provide confirmation from utility providers that sufficient service is available without adverse impacts (energy costs, water)
* Decommissioning plan. This outlines the orderly shutdown, dismantling, and removal of the center and must not limit future use of the property

-Standards
* Setbacks from residential and/or agricultural zoning districts
* Minimum lot size
* Vibration limitation
* Noise limitation of 55 decibels
* Fire and emergency training annually
* Annual reporting to the city’s Planning Department

In addition, there are the following Environmental Performance Standards
* Energy efficiency
* Water resource protection
* Air quality and emissions
* Rise
* Heat
* Stormwater
* Lighting

An ordinance will require additional steps. State code requires that updates to the Unified Development Ordinance are set by the Plan Commission with a public hearing. Therefore, in tomorrow’s council meeting, we can make the recommendation to Plan Commission to further review and establish an ordinance for data center zoning.

I've provided the drafted content below. This is not the final product, but the starting point for this important update to our city's development ordinance.

I believe this update is timely and important for our community. The outlined standards and expectations ensure that any potential data center project works not just for the company, but for the people of Valparaiso.

05/05/2026

Tonight’s Plan Commission meeting agenda-

05/04/2026

Important date change notice! The Valparaiso Environmental Advisory Board will meet Thursday, May 7 at 5pm.

(This is a change from our usual, first Monday of the month.)

04/27/2026

Did somebody say “pedestrian safety”? 🚸

So glad to see that this intersection is being addressed to focus on the safety of pedestrians across one of our busier roads, Calumet Ave. This is especially important as there are two well loved parks at this intersection- Fairgrounds Park and the Skate Park!

Pedestrian safety has been a priority of mine even before I ran for office. I’m proud of the advocacy for this public safety project through the Traffic and Safety Committee and the dedication of our engineering department in designing this crossing to make it safe for all.

𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐜𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 for the addition of a median island to assist pedestrians crossing to Fairgrounds Park. The construction is anticipated to take two weeks. Access to local residents and businesses will be provided. Through traffic is advised to follow detour route signs. We appreciate your patience during construction for this public improvement project.