📋 Just Passed

State Legislation

• Pennsylvania: The House passed H.B. 1834, the state's first data center regulatory framework. The bill prohibits utilities from shifting data center costs onto ratepayers, requires data centers to cover grid upgrades, and mandates a 32% clean energy requirement. Data centers would also contribute to a Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program account. The bill heads to the Senate.
• Maine: Lawmakers are preparing to vote on L.D. 307, a statewide moratorium designed to pause data center development while studying grid and environmental impacts.

Moratoriums Approved

• Baltimore, MD: City Council introduced a one-year pause on large data center construction. An informational hearing will precede the final vote.
• Boone, NC: Town Council approved a one-year moratorium on data centers and cryptocurrency mining. Watauga County commissioners separately agreed to hold a public hearing on a county-wide moratorium on April 21.
• Washington County, TN: Commissioners approved a one-year moratorium on construction, operation, and permitting of data centers including cryptocurrency mines, effective immediately through June 30, 2027.
• Tulsa, OK: City Council approved a moratorium on new hyperscale data center construction through December 31. The ordinance exempts Project Anthem's first two phases. Updates required roughly every 60 days.

Regulations Passed

• Aurora, IL: City Council approved data center regulations as its six-month moratorium expired. The ordinance caps daytime noise at 56 dB and nighttime at 46 dB, requires generators and chillers to be 1,500 feet from homes, and mandates City Council approval for any new facility. Rules apply only to new centers, not existing or pipeline facilities.
• Jefferson County, MO: The Planning and Zoning Commission approved regulations with 1,000-foot residential setbacks, 50-foot building height caps, generator testing limited to one hour per month per unit, and annual emissions and water discharge reports published on a county web page. Goes to County Council for final approval.
• Birmingham, AL: A committee recommended a citywide data center ordinance to the full council, with separate regulations for hyperscale facilities using more than 30 MW. Public hearing set for April 28.
• Hempfield, PA: Supervisors approved updated zoning restricting data centers to industrial zones before any proposals arrived. 57 data centers are currently proposed across Pennsylvania.

Projects Approved

• Yorkville, IL: City Council approved annexation, a planned unit development, and a development agreement for Project Steel, a 550-acre, 16-building campus. The developer will pay $40M in impact fees upfront, mostly to the school district. Water usage estimated at roughly 25,000 gallons per day. This is Yorkville's third approved data center.
• Liberty, MO: Officials approved $1.4B in bonds and $202.7M in tax abatements over 25 years for a Metrobloks data center. Three buildings totaling approximately 568,800 sq ft. Metrobloks purchases and services the bonds itself, with about $49M in payments going to taxing entities including schools and libraries.
• Kokomo, IN: Common Council approved annexation and rezoning of 746 acres. No specific use or development has been proposed or formally discussed for the area.
• Clarksdale, MS: The Board of Mayor and Commissioners rezoned 648 acres from commercial/agricultural to light industrial. No formal application has been filed and no developer named. The rezoning does not approve construction.

Projects Denied or Delayed

• Rochelle, IL: City Council tabled a development agreement for a data center on nearly 200 acres. The first phase requires 48 MW, and the final phase would consume the city's entire remaining supply of roughly 75 MW.
• Independence, MO: A judge ruled tax break incentives don't qualify for a referendum, clearing the $150B Nebius project. The ruling reversed a previous hold on referendum deadlines. Organizers are considering an appeal.

💬 Catch Up on Discussions

• Festus, MO: About 400 people packed the high school gym for a four-hour meeting over the proposed CRG data center. Of 64 speakers, roughly 40 opposed and about 10 supported. The mayor announced a framework agreement with CRG reached March 20. A special meeting to consider the development agreement is scheduled for March 30.
• Columbus, GA: More than 200 residents attended a public forum on the proposed Project Ruby data center. Council is expected to take up the overlay district next month.
• Cumberland County, NC: Three commissioners publicly declared support for a moratorium after a packed hearing with 33 speakers and 96 written comments. At least two companies have expressed interest in building data centers in Fayetteville.
• Rowan County, NC: Residents are fighting a data center after commissioners rezoned nearly 400 acres of former farmland in October 2025. A petition has gathered nearly 3,000 signatures. The site was sold for $174M to EDC Charlotte LLC, linked to developer Edged. No project has been formally requested.
• Archbald, PA: A second hearing on Provident Realty's 18-building campus was postponed after the newspaper failed to publish required notices. Archbald then scheduled a special Friday meeting to avoid a deemed-approval deadline under the PA Municipalities Planning Code. Six separate data center campuses totaling over 50 buildings are now proposed in Archbald.
• East Whiteland, PA: The planning commission advanced an amended plan that would increase the facility's footprint by roughly 60% to more than 1.6M sq ft on a remediated Superfund site. The commission forwarded the plan without endorsement.
• Palo, IA: Residents are questioning why Google chose to annex land into the city rather than build in unincorporated Linn County, which already has a data center ordinance. The mayor said Palo will lean on Linn County's ordinance as a reference while drafting its own rules.
• New Orleans, LA: The Planning Commission deferred its zoning recommendation on data centers to April 28 as residents pushed for a permanent ban. The City Council passed a temporary one-year ban in January.
• Independence, MO: Before the ruling, residents had collected 2,200 of the required 3,700 signatures. Organizers plan to submit signatures as a symbolic show of opposition.
• El Paso, TX: A crowd packed Don Haskins Recreational Center for the city's first community meeting on data center policy. Officials remained noncommittal about whether new policy would apply to the already-advancing Meta AI data center. Five additional meetings are scheduled through April 8.
• Montvale, NJ: The borough faces a choice on a 34-acre former KPMG campus: a data center or 250 residential units (50 affordable). Under a settlement agreement, the developer can choose between the two options.
• Yorkville, IL: The city is close to settling a resident's lawsuit challenging the 1,037-acre Project Cardinal. Attorneys reported "substantial progress" at a March 20 hearing. Yorkville envisions approximately 3,000 acres along the Eldamain Corridor for data center development.
• Lacy Lakeview, TX: Council reviewed a development agreement to study a sewer mining system that would recycle wastewater for a planned Infrakey DC Parks data center. The study phase carries no financial commitment and is expected to take about 90 days.
• Lowndes County, GA: Residents are pushing for a moratorium on a proposed AI data center near Valdosta. The county says the land was rezoned last July but no official plans have been submitted.
• South Strabane, PA: The planning commission recommended supervisors adopt a data center ordinance with a community benefit agreement provision. Public hearing March 31.
• Wixom, MI: The planning commission is drafting an ordinance to restrict water usage, require air/hybrid/closed-loop cooling, and bar facilities from locating adjacent to residential property.
• Trenton, OH: The planning commission could vote March 30 on Prologis' 880,000 sq ft "Project Mila" on 141 acres. Residents have asked for a moratorium.

📅 Watch out for

• Archbald, PA: Scheduled Special Meeting today! at 1 PM to consider conditional use application for Project Steel.
• Festus, MO: Special meeting to consider CRG development agreement, March 30.
• Trenton, OH: Planning commission vote on Project Mila site plan, March 30.
• South Strabane, PA: Public hearing on data center ordinance, March 31.
• Watauga County, NC: Public hearing on county-wide moratorium, April 21.
• Birmingham, AL: Public hearing on data center ordinance, April 28.
• New Orleans, LA: Planning Commission zoning recommendation on data centers, April 28.

STRisker Updates Tracker

How do you keep up with the regulatory rollercoaster in your market? STRisker's Updates Tracker can be your guide - start tracking latest events as they happen and get access to essential documents as they come in. We know the struggle, which is why we built this product to capture every twist and turn in the regulatory saga so you never miss a beat.

Start Your 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.