Data Centers: Daily Notes | September 30, 2026

Jesup, Georgia

Jesup city commissioners voted 4-2 Tuesday night to approve the first reading of an ordinance formally defining data centers and permitting them as a "conditional use" in light industrial zoning districts, following hours of contentious public debate at a packed Cracker Williams Recreation Center.

Dozens of residents spoke against moving forward with regulations, instead urging commissioners to enact a complete moratorium that would give the city time to study potential effects on local water resources and the power grid before any ordinance is finalized. Resident Erin Wallace said the debate felt disingenuous, noting some commissioners argued the ordinance was needed in case a moratorium failed, while others opposed the ordinance because a moratorium would allow time to strengthen it, when the city could pursue both.

Tuesday's vote was only a preliminary step, and the ordinance still requires additional readings before taking effect. The second reading is scheduled for Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.

Lovejoy, Georgia

Lovejoy city officials approved an ordinance Monday banning data center construction within city limits, following months of public opposition to Stillwater Development's proposed 3.5 million-square-foot data center campus near two schools.

City of Lovejoy passes ordinance banning data center construction

The City of Lovejoy on Monday passed an ordinance banning data center construction within city limits.

Atlanta News FirstAtlanta First News staff

The ordinance prohibits data centers citywide, repeals an article governing special administrative permits, and establishes new standards for high-density housing. The action follows Stillwater's December 2025 filing for a 15-building project with 1.25 gigawatts of capacity at full build-out, proposed at 11760 Panhandle Road near Michelle Obama STEM Elementary Academy and Eddie White Middle School. In its Developments of Regional Impact submission, the city warned the project could worsen existing traffic congestion on Panhandle Road caused by school activity, creating significant delays for drivers, buses and parents.

Manitowoc County, Wisconsin

Manitowoc County finalized a 24-page draft ordinance regulating data center construction, introduced at the Planning and Park Commission meeting, defining a data center as a facility of 50,000 square feet or more on at least 10 contiguous acres designed to house 1,000 or more servers.

Under the ordinance, data centers in the county would be capped at under 500 acres, with no more than 100 acres allowed to be converted from agricultural use for such a project, a notable limit compared to the 2.5 million-square-foot, 672-acre data center under construction in nearby Port Washington, expected to house hundreds of thousands of servers. Companies seeking to build a data center would need to submit site, development, building and equipment plans, along with power infrastructure, backup power and emergency generation, water supply and use, wastewater, and air quality management plans, among other requirements.

The full draft is posted on the county's website for public review and feedback before the County Board discusses it, likely holds a public hearing, and takes a vote.

Georgetown, Kentucky

Georgetown City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to direct legal counsel to draft an ordinance banning data centers, which would also formally define what qualifies as a hyperscale data center.

Georgetown council votes to draft ordinance banning data centers

The ordinance would also define what a hyperscale data center is.

WKYTWKYT News Staff

Mayor Burney Jenkins said most of the council's concern centers on large-scale, "mega" facilities, and that the ordinance needs to be careful not to inadvertently restrict smaller operations that support a local facility's own data processing needs. Council Member Karen Tingle-Sames said the city simply lacks the water, land and infrastructure to support a data center as things currently stand. Jenkins said he also wants the ordinance prepared to withstand potential legal challenges to an outright ban.

The proposed ban would still need approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission before taking effect. The vote comes after neighboring Scott County's Fiscal Court extended its own data center moratorium last week.

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Warren County, Ohio

Warren County commissioners unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on data center development in county-controlled areas, pausing projects while local and state zoning codes are reviewed and an Ohio EPA and OKI water impact study, expected in November, is completed.

The moratorium applies to so-called hyperscale data centers covering 10,000 square feet or more. Some county municipalities, including Clearcreek and Hamilton townships, already have yearlong moratoriums in place, while Lebanon, Deerfield Township and Mason are home to small data centers serving individual businesses. Commissioner Tom Grossmann, who voted for the pause alongside Commissioners Shannon Jones and Dave Young, said he's neither for nor against data centers outright but wants more study, particularly around size and location.

East Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania

East Buffalo Township supervisors will hold a public hearing Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m. on a new data center ordinance, with final approval to follow public comment and discussion at the same meeting.

Public Hearing on Data Center Ordinance in East Buffalo Township |

Newsradio 1070 WKOKMark Lawrence

Supervisor Chair Jim Knight said the ordinance sets conditions data center developers must meet to gain approval, building on a prior township ordinance that regulated smaller-scale cryptocurrency and data mining operations but didn't address larger commercial data centers. The new ordinance restricts data centers to the industrial zoning district. Township Manager Jolene Helwig said large-scale projects would need special exception approval from the zoning hearing board, while smaller-scale projects would go through the planning commission before supervisors make a final decision as a conditional use.

Center Point, Iowa

Center Point's City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission met jointly with Linn County Supervisor Brandi Meisheid to review county data center rules, as the city begins drafting its own ordinance even though no data center has approached the town.

Center Point considers rules for possible data center

Center Point leaders are considering what to do if a data center wants to come to town, even before there is a proposal on the table.

KCRGElizabeth Schultz

Using Linn and Johnson counties' regulations as models, leaders focused on power grid demands, cooling systems and requiring utility impact studies. Mayor Traer Morgan said it's important to be proactive so the city has a clear path forward if a data center developer does eventually come calling. Several residents questioned whether the city is prepared for the long-term impacts of such a facility, while others thanked the council for getting ahead of the issue.

Following the discussion, the council said it now has enough information to begin drafting a formal data center ordinance.

Suffolk, Virginia

Suffolk's Planning Commission voted 8-0 on Sept. 15 to recommend prohibiting data centers as a primary use in every city zoning district, a measure that would block new standalone data center projects outright if City Council adopts it Oct. 21.

The amendment stems from a June 17 council directive ordering planners to draft the prohibition, after staff flagged that existing zoning language could potentially be interpreted to allow a data center under another permitted use. The city would define a data center as an establishment primarily focused on storing, managing, processing or transmitting digital data, and would separately amend warehouse and distribution definitions to close a potential loophole allowing developers to characterize a data center as a warehouse.

Commissioner Selena Thornton-Manuel questioned whether the blanket definition would distinguish large campuses from smaller operations, and staff clarified the prohibition applies only when a data center is a property's principal use, meaning a hospital or office running its own servers wouldn't be affected. Commissioner Oliver Creekmore confirmed there would be no exception process if adopted, calling it "a dead issue." The vote came three days before Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed Executive Order 22 establishing a statewide Data Center Accountability Framework, which directs state agencies to develop evaluation tools for localities and designates the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area, which includes Suffolk, as a "cooling water scarcity area" for future water rulemaking.

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In case you missed it:

The Benefits, Topics, and Requirements of a Data Center Ordinance

Learn what a data center ordinance is, its benefits to developers, residents and municipalities, and the topics and common requirements it covers.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsEm Dela Cruz

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