Data Centers: Weekly Briefing // July 13 - July 17, 2026

📋 This Week's Decisions

✔️Just Passed

State Legislation

• New York: Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order making New York the first state to impose a data center moratorium, pausing permitting for new hyperscale facilities for up to a year while regulators write rules on energy, water and environmental impact. The move follows a legislative moratorium bill Hochul's office called too complex to sign as written; Data Center Coalition representative Dan Diorio warned the pause would push investment to other states.

Moratoriums Approved

• Santa Fe County, NM: Commissioners approved an 18-month ban on data center development on July 1, even though no projects have been proposed in the county, giving officials time to write siting, environmental and water-use standards. It's the second New Mexico county to impose a data center moratorium this year.
• Haring Township, MI: The Board of Trustees unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on data center construction before a standing-room crowd that largely favored an outright ban, which township attorneys said state law doesn't allow.
• Marietta, GA: City Council postponed a rezoning decision on a proposed data center at Powers Ferry Place after packed opposition, and separately approved a temporary moratorium on all new data center projects through Dec. 31.
• St. Charles County, MO: The County Council unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on new data centers following overwhelming public opposition, with plans to bring in outside experts to study impacts before deciding how to proceed.
• Broken Bow, NE: City Council approved a six-month moratorium on new data center applications, with an option to extend another 12 months while officials draft formal regulations.
• Pulaski County, AR: The Quorum Court advanced a weakened moratorium 8-1 that exempts the $6 billion AVAIO Digital project in Wrightsville, after a stronger, sweeping version failed 6-3. A full Quorum Court vote on the measure is set for July 31.
• Hamilton County, TN: Commissioners approved a one-year moratorium on new data centers in rural, unincorporated parts of the county to give officials time to update zoning rules; existing projects, including the Urban Story Ventures JailHouse Studios site, continue moving forward.

Regulations Passed

• Wausau, WI: City Council approved an ordinance creating data center zoning regulations, limiting facilities to medium- or heavy-industrial areas, requiring a conditional use permit, and mandating at least 200 feet of separation from residential areas.
• Putnam County, FL: Commissioners unanimously approved a policy change requiring staff to report all data center development inquiries to the county administrator and post them publicly within 72 hours, stopping short of a full moratorium amid conflicting state law. The board revisits the moratorium question July 28.

Projects Approved

• Van Buren, MI: Township officials granted Google roughly $125 million in property tax breaks over 12 years for its "Project Cannoli" data center near Detroit Metro Airport, a facility expected to draw more power than 750,000 homes. Some residents are now pushing to recall the entire township board over the deal.

Projects Denied/Withdrawn

• Palm Beach County, FL: Commissioners voted 5-1 to deny the Project Tango AI data center after a 12-hour hearing that drew hundreds of opponents from the Arden community, following the Zoning Board's earlier unanimous recommendation against an expanded version of the project.
• New Carlisle, IN: The St. Joseph County Council rejected a $13 billion data center proposal after a 10-hour meeting and extensive public testimony weighing economic benefits against infrastructure, energy and water concerns. Amazon's existing 1,200-acre Project Rainier campus nearby continues expanding regardless.
• Leon County, TX: Commissioners rejected an initial tax abatement application from Crusoe Technologies for a proposed $34 billion data center, citing an incomplete submission as more than 200 residents packed the meeting to oppose the project. Crusoe is expected to submit a complete application; a separate public hearing is planned for July 27.

💬 Catch Up on Discussions

• Boulder City, NV: City Council voted unanimously to appeal the Bureau of Land Management's approval of a data center on federal land within city limits, the same Townsite Solar-2 project that was withdrawn from city land and relocated to BLM-controlled land after resident pushback last week. The appeal goes to the Interior Board of Appeals, with no clear timeline for a response.
• Stokes County, NC: Commissioners voted down a proposed six-month moratorium on new data center proposals as they continue weighing Project Delta, the large-scale facility whose January rezoning approval a court voided in April over a defective public notice. The developer plans to resubmit its rezoning application from scratch.
• Indianapolis, IN: A City-County Council committee gave a do-pass recommendation to a moratorium on new data center approvals running through Dec. 31, 2027, replacing an earlier regulatory proposal to give the city time to develop rules on size, noise and environmental impact. The pause would not affect projects already in the pipeline; the measure still needs a full council vote.
• Valparaiso, IN: City Council unanimously advanced a moratorium ordinance to the Plan Commission on first reading, pausing new data center projects while the city updates its development ordinance. No project has actually been proposed for Valparaiso; the Plan Commission holds a public hearing Aug. 4.
• Rural Hall, NC: Residents gathered to oppose a proposed 129-acre data center ahead of a final rezoning vote July 30, despite local leaders already having given the project initial approval. The group No Data Center Rural Hall said several members would support a moratorium instead.
• Ypsilanti Township, MI: Residents and officials pushed back on a proposed $1.25 billion research computing center the University of Michigan is developing with Los Alamos National Laboratory, citing energy use, lack of local zoning control and security concerns. A final site decision is expected within weeks.
• Chesterfield County, VA: Hundreds of residents attended an open house to press Google for details on three proposed data center campuses, Project Peanut, Project Skye and Project Loch, after the company declined to share project-specific water or power figures until the facilities are operational.
• Cedar Creek, TX: Pacifico Cedar Creek LLC is seeking approval and major tax incentives for a proposed 2,842-acre data center and natural-gas power campus, with the JETI incentive process still needing state and Bastrop ISD review; the developer is weighing the site against an Ohio location currently under its own moratorium.
• Salem, OR is considering Verrus's proposed 75-acre "Oakline at Millcreek" data center campus, which has drawn mixed reactions as the developer touts closed-loop cooling and low-noise equipment.
• Emporia, KS advocacy group Emporia Neighbors United relaunched its petition to prohibit hyperscale data centers after the county elections office rejected its original 1,358-signature submission for failing to meet Kansas statutory requirements. The city commission takes up Planning Commission recommendations on the related Flint Hills Digital Campus July 22.
• San Jose, CA advocates are questioning whether a proposed Google facility is an unlabeled data center after blueprints revealed a 250-megawatt substation and cooling towers behind an "R&D" designation; Google maintains the site is for internal chip engineering only.
• Mason County, WV: Runoff from the Monarch data center construction site flooded the Meadowlands Estates neighborhood for the second time this year; Monarch is paying for damages and reassessing stormwater controls while running a voluntary home buyout program for affected residents.
• Imperial County, CA: A judge rejected a defamation lawsuit that a data center developer filed against KPBS and a reporter over coverage of a proposed project, finding the underlying reporting on water use and environmental review wasn't false.
• Oshkosh, WI: The Common Council advanced a pause on data center construction, directing staff to draft a formal moratorium ordinance even though no project has been proposed for the city; a local petition against data centers has drawn over 1,500 signatures.
• Bloomington, IL is developing regulations for data centers using 5 megawatts or more while under its existing six-month moratorium, with an expert panel hearing set for Aug. 26 followed by public comment sessions in October and November.
• Ames, IA City Council discussed potential data center limits alongside a LightEdge facility proposal, weighing whether to pursue lease talks, pass on the project, or take broader regulatory action citywide.
• Clinton, IA's Plan Commission is reviewing a 15-page draft ordinance that would set 500-foot residential setbacks and require water-efficiency documentation, as a tech company considers a $10 billion campus for the city.
• Alamance County, NC: a commissioner is pushing colleagues to begin discussing data center regulation, including a possible moratorium, ahead of a July 20 board meeting.
• Nutley, NJ residents pressed officials over an 11-acre parcel advertised as "data center approved," though no formal application has been filed.
• Granville Township, PA held an emergency meeting after receiving a data center proposal minutes before the township office closed, with supervisors continuing to draft a zoning ordinance that won't apply to this application.
• Tazewell County, IL's Land Use Committee heard guidance from a neighboring county's zoning officer as it drafts its own data center ordinance.
• St. Joseph, MO agreed to stop accepting new data center applications and seek outside zoning expertise following months of resident concern, after a developer withdrew a rezoning bid for a site on Pickett Road.
• Americus, KS City Council held a listening session on the proposed Flint Hills Digital Campus without taking formal action.
• Delhi, LA will continue supplying water to Meta's expanding data center, with Meta covering all infrastructure costs so local ratepayers aren't affected.
• Faribault, MN is developing performance standards for future data centers as it considers a proposed Archer Datacenters facility.

📅 Upcoming Meetings

• Alamance County, NC: Board discussion on data center regulation, July 20.

• Emporia, KS: City Commission takes up Flint Hills Digital Campus recommendations, July 22.

• Leon County, TX: Public hearing on the Crusoe Technologies project, July 27.

• Putnam County, FL: Board revisits the moratorium question, July 28.

• Rural Hall, NC: Final rezoning vote, July 30.

• Pulaski County, AR: Full Quorum Court vote on the moratorium, July 31.

• Valparaiso, IN: Plan Commission public hearing on the moratorium ordinance, Aug. 4.

• Bloomington, IL: Expert panel hearing on proposed regulations, Aug. 26.

📱 Social Buzz

Episode Title: 7/15/26 - New IEDC drama, Indy's massive data center incentives, Ballard makes the ballot
Episode: The Rob Kendall Show

Listen:https://traffic.megaphone.fm/CSPG4737367823.mp3

👀 In case you missed it...

Read something interesting from this weekly briefing? You can read more about it below.

Data Centers: Daily Notes | July 16, 2026

Boulder City Council voted unanimously to appeal the Bureau of Land Management’s approval of a data center on federal land within city limits, Bloomington is preparing for its next major public discussion on data centers, Hamilton County commissioners approved a one-year moratorium. READ MORE.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsGenelaine Urbano

Data Centers: Daily Notes | July 15, 2026

New York became the first state to impose a statewide data center moratorium, Putnam County commissioners approved a policy requiring staff to report all data center development inquiries publicly within 72 hours; Rural Hall residents gathered to oppose a proposed 129-acre data center.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsGenelaine Urbano

Data Centers: Daily Notes | July 14, 2026

Palm Beach County commissioners face a final vote on Project Tango, Haring Township unanimously approved a six-month data center moratorium, Marietta postponed a rezoning decision on a proposed data center, Indianapolis committee advanced a moratorium on new data center approvals through 2027.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsGenelaine Urbano

Data Centers: Daily Notes | July 13, 2026

Santa Fe County approved an 18-month ban on data center development, Van Buren granted Google roughly $125 million in property tax breaks for its “Project Cannoli” data center, Ames will discuss potential limits on data centers, Alamance County, Nutley. READ MORE.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsGenelaine Urbano

Social Listening📱: Twitter

Strisker’s Twitter Signal pulls real-time posts from officials, agencies, advocacy groups, and local influencers—so you see emerging sentiment and policy signals the moment they surface. Track conversations by place, people, and topics, then zero in on what actually matters.

Create Your Watchlist - 14 Day Free Trial

👍 We’d love your feedback.
Which stories hit? Which ones missed?

We're constantly refining Weekly Briefing to make it even more useful for you.

✉️ Just reply directly to this email. We read and respond to every message!

-Will McClure
🙋 P.S.
Know someone else who should be reading Weekly Briefing? Feel free to forward this along. It is the easiest way to stay ahead of regulation changes in short-term and vacation rentals.