Data Centers: Daily Notes | September 22, 2026

Wakulla County, Florida

Wakulla County commissioners voted unanimously Monday to adopt an ordinance explicitly prohibiting data centers throughout the county's unincorporated areas, formalizing a ban that staff said already existed in practice under the county's zoning rules.

County staff told commissioners data centers aren't listed as a permitted or conditional use in any county zoning district, and that the light- and heavy-industrial districts lack a catchall provision that would allow similar unlisted uses, meaning construction of a data center likely wasn't permitted anywhere in unincorporated Wakulla County even before the vote. The new ordinance adds a formal definition of data centers to the land development code and creates a dedicated section identifying them as prohibited, removing any ambiguity.

Salem, Oregon

Salem City Council gave final approval Monday night to a 120-day moratorium on data center development, set to expire Jan. 19 unless extended roughly six more months, giving the city's new Data Center Task Force more time to study how to regulate the facilities.

Salem joins list of cities halting data center development with moratorium

Salem councilors gave final approval to a 120-day moratorium on data center development Monday night, giving a new city task force more time to research how to regulate the facilities safely.

KVALBarry Mangold, KATU

Councilor Linda Nishoka said the pause is needed to evaluate the risks facing the city before any decisions are made. While in effect, the moratorium bars the city from approving any data center development regardless of size, capacity or purpose. Councilor Vanessa Nordyke said she already supports extending the pause as long as legally possible, saying she wants to give the city all the time it needs. The task force, chaired by natural resource consultant Ken Bierly, is gathering public input at town halls, with sessions scheduled for Oct. 6 at Center 50+ and Oct. 20 at the Scottish Rite Center, ahead of presenting recommendations to council in December.

Mankato, Minnesotta

North Mankato's City Council passed a one-year moratorium and study on data centers Monday with overwhelming support, following an August 3 meeting where the council tabled the discussion to gather more resident input.

North Mankato City Council Adopts Data Center Moratorium

It’s been over a month since the North Mankato City Council held a public hearing regarding a one year moratorium and study on data centers. On Monday, September 21, that motion passed with overwhelming support.

KEYCKate Jones

Four residents spoke in favor at Monday's hearing, up from 15 who addressed the council at the original public hearing over a month earlier. Resident Joe Tougas said he supports the moratorium but urged the council to keep the process transparent, saying he wasn't sure what mechanism the city would use to share updates during the yearlong study.

The moratorium pauses consideration or construction of new data centers for up to 12 months, with the option to renew for an additional year, giving the council time to study the facilities' localized impacts and how other communities regulate them.

Calexico, California

Calexico City Council voted 3-0 on Sept. 16 to become the third city in California to ban data centers within its limits, amending the zoning code to expressly prohibit the facilities after months of discussion that started as a proposed moratorium.

City Manager Ben Martinez said data centers were technically already disallowed under Calexico's permissive zoning system, which does not authorize uses not expressly listed, but that the new ordinance formalizes and strengthens the city's policy stance. The process began June 3 when council directed staff to consider a moratorium, and shifted at a July 1 meeting when council instead asked staff to draft an outright prohibition rather than adopt the urgency interim ordinance staff had recommended.

Residents from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border spoke against data centers at the meeting, including Fernando Marquez Duarte of the Environmental Justice Border Committee, who cited environmental impacts on a community already burdened by pollution, and Dr. Astrid M. Calderas of Econciencia y Salud, who presented research gathered through youth outreach programs. Resident Gilberto Manzanarez argued hyperscale data centers don't fit Calexico's binational, cultural identity.

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Kalamazoo, Michigan

Kalamazoo commissioners set a public hearing for their next meeting to formally embed a data center moratorium into the city's zoning code, a step that will make enforceable a pause that has existed only as a resolution until now.

Assistant City Planner Bobby Durkee said the zoning amendment ensures the moratorium is enforceable under the city's development code and the state's enabling act, since the prior action lacked that legal footing. He said a year should be enough time to develop guardrails to protect the public if a data center proposal comes forward. The city has used moratoriums twice before, once while considering regulations for digital billboards and again while rewriting zoning codes for marijuana businesses.

Prince William County, Virginia

Prince William County's Board of Supervisors is set to consider two connected data center votes Tuesday, including a proposal that would end automatic "by right" approval for data centers within the county's overlay district and require board approval for every future project.

Prince William County to vote on major data center policy changes

Two major votes Tuesday could reshape data center development in Prince William County, as leaders consider ending automatic approvals for certain projects and decide whether to allow a controversial Dominion Energy substation expansion.

FOX 5 DCMaureen Umeh

Supporters say ending by-right approval would give county leaders and residents more say over where facilities are sited, while industry representatives point to the hundreds of millions of dollars in local tax revenue the projects generate. The board will also reconsider Dominion Energy's request to expand its Vint Hill substation near Nokesville, intended to power up to seven proposed data center buildings; Dominion says the expansion is needed to meet rising demand and improve reliability, but nearby residents have raised concerns about proximity to homes, potential health and environmental impacts, and two proposed 30-foot equipment buildings.

The board delayed a decision on the substation in June, citing a need for more information on safety and environmental effects. The zoning hearing is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, followed by the board's evening session at 7 p.m., with a rally against the substation project planned outside the building at 6 p.m.

Normal, Illinois

Normal's Town Council voted 6-1 Monday to extend the town's data center moratorium through May 31, 2027, with Council member Andy Byars casting the lone dissenting vote against the extension.

Normal extends data center moratorium to wait for regulations, industry to evolve

Normal has extended its moratorium on data center development through May 31, 2027, as officials continue studying possible regulations.

pantagraph.comMATEUSZ JANIK mateusz.janiklee.net

The town adopted the original moratorium in May, pausing acceptance, processing and approval of data center applications and related permits; it had been set to expire Nov. 30. City Manager Pamela Reece told the council officials have reviewed other communities' data center ordinances, visited Aurora and other municipalities with existing facilities, attended a recent community meeting, and gathered information from Champaign County, but haven't yet narrowed that research into specific rules because the Illinois General Assembly may take up state legislation that could affect local regulations. Assistant City Manager Brian Day said the town doesn't want to finalize its own rules only to have state law require a different approach.

Fayette County, Ohio

Fayette County commissioners moved to approve a roughly eight-month data center moratorium Monday, running from Sept. 21, 2026 through June 1, 2027, after Commissioner Donnie Fleak reversed his initial opposition following public comment at a meeting attended by about 27 residents.

Zoning Officer Justin Hagler opened the discussion by distributing the county's rezoning and amendment process and confirming no applications had been submitted for farmland rezoning or data centers. Paint Township resident Dan Drake presented resolutions supporting a moratorium from seven townships, Concord, Green, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Paint and Perry. Fleak's motion, seconded by Board Chairman Jim Garland, directed Prosecutor Jess Weade to draft the measure, which he delivered later that day covering the seven unincorporated townships while excluding Jefferson, Wayne and Union townships, which maintain their own zoning authority.

Under the moratorium, county officials cannot process applications, reviews, zoning approvals or permits for data centers in the affected areas, giving officials time to assess and develop recommendations for regulating the facilities. Commissioners retain authority to modify, rescind or extend the pause before it expires, and a comprehensive county land use plan addressing the issue permanently is expected to take effect in mid-2027. Commissioner Tony Anderson voted present in absentia.

Zionsville, Indiana

Zionsville Town Council approved a one-year moratorium Sept. 21 on data centers, along with solar and wind farms and battery energy storage systems, directing the planning department and Plan Commission to review zoning code since none of these uses currently have a permitted land-use category.

lunkett said the move isn't meant to shut down potential projects but to send a formal request to the Plan Commission to review the town's land use ordinance and return recommendations. Town Council attorney Heather Harris said the decision was partly driven by neighboring communities taking similar action, including Boone County's one-year moratorium approved in June, and that some counties have banned the projects outright. She said the goal was to get ahead of developer interest before Zionsville becomes a target site.

The pause gives officials time to research the developments, gather community feedback, and determine whether and where such projects should be allowed in town. Any changes would go through the Plan Commission for a recommendation before a final vote by the town council, with public hearings required at both stages. Councilor Tim McElderry said the moratorium "makes complete sense" and would help the town make better long-term decisions.

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