Data Centers: Daily Notes | October 07, 2026

Mendocino County, California

Mendocino County supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to extend their data center moratorium by 22 months and 15 days, to Aug. 21, 2028, the longest period state law allows, while narrowing it to exempt facilities drawing less than 3 megawatts of electricity.

Mendocino County supervisors extend data center moratorium to 2028, with a 3-megawatt exception • The Mendocino Voice | Mendocino County, CA

Supervisor Maureen Mulheren cast the lone no vote, saying a 3-megawatt threshold worked out over lunch was ‘not fully developed.’

The Mendocino Voice | Mendocino County, CARoger Coryell

The original 45-day urgency ordinance, adopted Sept. 1, was set to expire Oct. 16, and Deputy County Counsel Matthew Kiedrowski said the board's next meeting would have fallen outside that limit. Supervisor Ted Williams said he and Supervisor John Haschak, the board's ad hoc committee, worked out the 3-megawatt exemption over lunch with staff, and the board adopted it the same afternoon. He explained that 3 megawatts is roughly what PG&E delivers through standard service before a project needs its own transformers or a substation, which would allow a data center about the size of a shipping container while still keeping out gigawatt-size facilities.

Butler County, Kansas

Butler County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to delay action on proposed data center regulations until Oct. 27, after more than two hours of discussion and public testimony.

Butler County zoning board approves data center regulations

The board’s approval does not mean these rules are set. The Butler County Commission will discuss and vote on them at future meetings.

KSN-TVSarah Moore

The draft rules, developed over several months, would govern where data centers can be built in unincorporated Butler County and set standards for noise, lighting, water use, emergency response, environmental protection and decommissioning. Applicants would need to submit traffic studies, water use feasibility reports, noise modeling and utility coordination plans.

Data Centers | Butler County, KS - Official Website

Butler County Kansas HomepageGovernment Websites by CivicPlus®

Eighteen residents spoke for nearly another hour, many urging caution or opposing data centers outright. They raised concerns about low-frequency noise from cooling equipment and generators, water use, grid strain, light pollution, proximity to homes and farms, hazardous materials and battery storage, stormwater runoff, decommissioning and property values.

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Luzerne County's Planning Commission will consider relaxing the sound and setback requirements in its proposed data center zoning amendment Thursday at 2 p.m., after the county administration concluded the version the commission approved in May could be exclusionary.

The administration's executive summary says the combined standards made it nearly impossible to site a data center in any allowable zoning district, based on testing against county GIS mapping data. It warns that under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code a successful exclusionary challenge could push large data centers into areas with far lower standards. For the largest "hyperscale" and "major" facilities, the setback from sensitive receptors such as schools, hospitals and places of worship would drop from 2,000 feet to 1,250 feet, and the zoning hearing board could cut it to 1,000 feet for projects exceeding environmental standards. For smaller "edge" and "minor" centers, the setback would fall from 1,000 feet to 650 feet, reducible to 500, and the distance from bodies of water would shrink from 500 feet to 400.

Noise limits would also loosen, to 55 dB(A) and 65 dB(C) at the property line, compared with the original 45 dB(A) and 60 dB(C) on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 40 dB(A) and 50 dB(C) at other times. Because the administration is recommending changes, the commission must vote on them before the amendment can go to County Council. If adopted, it would apply in the 19 municipalities that rely on county zoning.

Granbury, Texas

Granbury city leaders put a proposed recall election on hold Tuesday after attorney Andy Taylor announced at the City Council meeting that he is suing the city to stop it, just as council was about to schedule the vote for May 2027.

The recall effort targets Mayor Jim Jarratt and four council members, after 15% of registered voters, more than 1,300 signatures, signed a petition over allegations the city did not disclose enough about a potential data center. Taylor, who is based in Houston, said he believes the petition is invalid because of procedural and signature issues. City Attorney Jeremy SoRelle advised council to stop the scheduling process. It is unclear who Taylor represents, FOX 4 found no online filing of the suit, and he did not respond to a request for comment as he left the meeting.

The dispute follows the council's vote earlier this year to annex 2,200 acres near Meadow Wood Road, where the city has received concept plans for a data center. Residents walked out of the previous week's meeting when Jarratt and council members defended their actions and declined to resign. City officials say any official development plans would go through the normal review and meet zoning and development standards before approval.

Morristown, Tennessee

Morristown's City Council has proposed initial zoning rules for data centers that would limit them to heavy industrial districts, making the city one of the first governments in East Tennessee to restrict where the facilities can be built rather than impose a moratorium.

Under the proposal, buildings would have to sit at least 500 feet from any home, school or government building, and all data center equipment would have to be housed inside a building. City officials described the rules as a starting point. Several East Tennessee counties and cities, including Hamblen County, have considered or enacted moratoriums, but Morristown chose zoning instead.

The council is expected to take up the proposal again on second reading. The city administrator has also been asked to review the issue and return with additional regulations in about three months.

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Oakland, California

Oakland's City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to place a 45-day temporary moratorium on all new data center development in the city, effective immediately.

The urgency measure, sponsored by Councilmember Carroll Fife, pauses approvals while the city studies data centers' potential effects on water supplies, electrical grids and air quality. Fife has criticized developers for using nondisclosure agreements to keep project details from officials and the public, and the vote followed scrutiny of Behring Companies' plan to convert the ground floor of a downtown building near 20th and Franklin streets into a data center, with the upper floors serving as office space for artificial intelligence research. Mayor Barbara Lee said the pause gives the public time to weigh in on what Oakland wants.

Testimony was mixed. Dr. Elizabeth Dougherty warned that Oakland draws heavily on the Mokelumne River, already tapped for up to 60 to 70 percent of its flow, and that more water use would affect the ecosystem and the Sierra Nevada upriver, while another speaker urged a permanent ban. Supporters of data centers asked the council to reject the moratorium, citing jobs. Fife has scheduled a community conversation for Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. at Beth Eden Baptist Church at 1183 10th Street in West Oakland, and the city will use the 45 days to analyze policy options and development standards.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Bethlehem City Council voted 7-0 Tuesday to give initial approval to the city's first zoning rules for data centers, with a final vote scheduled for Oct. 20.

Planning and Zoning Director Cathy Fletcher told council the city's zoning code currently treats data centers like any other industrial use, with no added limits. The new rules would add a public hearing, require studies on water, power, noise and heat, and keep data centers at least 1,000 feet from homes and schools. Councilwoman Jo Daniels said the rules fall short in the areas that matter most to residents, and she and Councilman Bryan Callahan said they did not expect to vote for them but voted yes. Other members argued that passing the rules now beats leaving data centers unregulated, and most of the 24 public speakers urged passage with strengthening over time.

The rules would not cover the one data center already proposed, a two-story, 65,000-square-foot-footprint building at 2184 Industrial Drive along Route 22, which could not be built under them because it sits in the Planned Industrial district and within 1,000 feet of residentially zoned property. Because its application was filed first, it will be reviewed under the current code, and the project goes before the Planning Commission Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. in the Town Hall Rotunda.

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