Data Centers: Weekly Briefing // May 11-14, 2026

📋 This Week's Decisions

State Legislation

• Florida: Gov. DeSantis signed SB 484 into law, requiring the Public Service Commission to develop tariffs ensuring hyperscale data centers bear their full cost of service without shifting expenses to residential ratepayers. The law reinforces local governments' authority to block data center projects but also allows cities and counties to enter 12-month NDAs with tech companies.

Moratoriums Approved

• Hill County, TX: Commissioners voted to impose a one-year pause on new data center construction in unincorporated areas, making it the first Texas county to issue a moratorium. The county had been weighing a 300-acre proposal from Provident Data Centers. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt has asked Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate counties that pass moratoriums.
• Lysander, NY: The Town Board approved a six-month moratorium at a packed May 7 hearing where the crowd wrapped around the building. The moratorium runs through November 6, 2026.
• Inver Grove Heights, MN: The city approved a one-year moratorium in a split vote, prompted by a proposed center from Fortress Investment Group. Residents were frustrated the council did not allow public comment before the vote.
• Jackson Township, OH: Trustees approved a one-year moratorium (Resolution 2026-049), though residents raised concerns that annexation into Grove City could undermine it. Data centers are not currently permitted under Grove City zoning.
• Rockdale County, GA: The county extended its moratorium on data center and battery storage applications through Sept. 8, 2026, running alongside a Unified Development Ordinance update.
• Logan County, IL: The Zoning Board approved a 90-day moratorium, shorter than the year-long version residents wanted. Chairman Dale Nelson said the county would lose its deal with Hut 8 if it waits too long.
• Penn Township, MI: The township approved a 30-day moratorium after multiple developers expressed interest. Residents pushed for one to two years instead.

Regulations Passed

• Jay County, IN: Commissioners approved two ordinances replacing year-long moratoriums with permanent rules. Data centers must meet 1,000-foot setbacks from property lines and 2,500-foot setbacks from dwellings, with a 35-foot height cap, closed-loop cooling, a 50-decibel noise limit, and a 6-foot berm as a sound buffer.
• Hoover, AL: City Council approved an ordinance creating a case-by-case review process for future data center proposals, including buffer zones, setbacks, traffic studies, and utility capacity letters.
• Andover Township, NJ: The township will introduce an ordinance repealing data centers as a permitted use in its Route 206 economic development zone, following public opposition and a physical confrontation between police and a resident that went viral. The township had amended zoning in September 2025 to permit data centers and increased the height limit to 65 feet in April.

Projects Approved

• Red Oak, TX: Council voted to rezone nearly 830 acres from agricultural to planned development for a Compass Datacenters second campus and approved a tax abatement.
• Van Wert, OH: City Council passed three ordinances tied to a proposed $10 billion data center, including the annexation of approximately 962 acres purchased by Thor Equities. All three passed with emergency provisions waiving three readings.

Projects Denied / Withdrawn

• South Annville Township, PA: A York-based developer withdrew its rezoning petition for a $1.7 billion data center after the Planning Commission voted against recommending the rezoning and organizers collected more than 500 signatures opposing it.
• Pekin, IL: Western Hospitality Partners formally withdrew its data center proposal and requested its $85,000 deposit back. The New York-based company previously pulled back from a Kentucky project after similar community opposition.

💬 Catch Up on Discussions

• Charlotte, NC: City Council voted to schedule a May 26 public hearing on a proposed 150-day data center moratorium, with a formal vote expected June 8. Data centers are currently allowed by right in eight zoning districts, including residential areas, and all existing facilities sit within 500 feet of homes.
• Harford County, MD: The county is advancing two parallel measures. County Executive Bob Cassilly has proposed a permanent ban, with a hearing set for June 9. Councilmember Jacob Bennett is pursuing a 180-day moratorium, with a hearing on May 19. Grassroots group Our Land Our Home Our Harford has urged the council to pass emergency legislation instead.
• Seattle, WA: The City Council is weighing a one-year ban on big new data centers, drafted over concerns power demand could push up residents' electric bills. The moratorium still needs full council approval.
• Chatham County, NC: ECO TIP West LLC filed suit to overturn the county's 12-month moratorium, claiming $11 million invested in its 750-megawatt project on land rezoned for heavy industrial use in 2018. The lawsuit seeks expedited review, damages, and attorney's fees.
• Hillsboro, OR: Councilor Kipperlyn Sinclair is pushing for an emergency session to shift authority over data center tax breaks from city staff to the council. Nearly 20 developers applied for enterprise zone abatements in the past three months before Oregon's statewide moratorium takes effect in June.
• Union Township, NJ: The Township Committee approved the first reading of an ordinance banning AI data centers in all zoning districts, following opposition to CoreWeave's $1.8 billion facility under construction at the former Merck site in neighboring Kenilworth.
• Pulaski County, AR: The Quorum Court sent five data center measures back to the planning board for 90 days of review after heated debate over Google and AVAIO projects.
• Minneapolis, MN: The City Council is set to take up a data center moratorium on May 21. The council appeared divided in April, with some members noting data centers could fill vacant downtown office space and others warning a moratorium would create market uncertainty.
• Griffin, GA: Commissioners reviewed proposed tiered zoning for data centers. Minor (up to 10,000 sq ft) and major (up to 275,000 sq ft) facilities would be allowed by special use permit; hyperscale centers (500,000+ sq ft) would not be permitted.
• Palo, IA: The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended a new ordinance regulating a Google data center planned near the Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Facility. The ordinance defers water oversight to the Iowa DNR rather than requiring a local agreement and lets Google redact confidential information.
• Fort Worth, TX: City Council postponed its vote on a $10 billion Black Mountain data center site plan to June 23. The 187-acre campus would include four buildings and a dedicated Oncor substation. Over 30 people had registered to speak.
• Pittsburg County, OK: A review committee formally recommended approval of tax incentives for IREN's proposed $50 billion, 1.2-gigawatt Project Emerald on 2,000 acres near Kiowa. The plan includes an 85% property tax abatement. IREN acknowledges just 40 permanent jobs per phase.
• Urbana, OH: The City Council started rolling back zoning changes that made it easier to build data centers. A resolution reversing last year's changes to the M-1 Manufacturing District now goes to the Planning Commission.
• Calipatria, CA: The City Council voted to consider a five-year moratorium on large-scale data center development, the first city in Imperial County to take such a step. The measure now moves to a public hearing.
• Lyon Township, MI: Residents are pursuing recall petitions against all seven board trustees after the planning commission approved a 1.8 million-square-foot data center without public hearings. The Oakland County Election Commission approved the petition language April 27.
• Pima County, AZ: The county cited a contractor at the Project Blue data center site for air quality violations, with fines up to $10,000/day. The violation came after Tucson revoked the developer's access to a city water meter, with the city manager saying the $3.6 billion project is not eligible for city resources.
• Franklin County, VA: The county is pausing its zoning ordinance update two months before a scheduled final vote, after resident backlash. Franklin County is the only Virginia county split between zoned and unzoned areas, and data centers are currently permitted by right in its Regional Enterprise Park zones.
• Daviess County, KY: The Fiscal Court takes up the first reading of a one-year moratorium on large-scale data center applications. A second reading and vote would follow.
• East Fishkill, NY: The Town Board plans to renew its moratorium on industrial properties expiring June 30 and extend it to cover data centers, after Treetop Development inquired about building a data center on a site originally planned for a warehouse.
• Citrus County, FL: Commissioners voted to direct staff to draft a temporary moratorium capped at 12 months, driven in part by Deltona Corporation's filing for 800+ acres at Holder Industrial Park.
• South Londonderry Township, PA: Supervisors authorized a revised data center ordinance for advertisement, removing a definition of continuous operational noise and a bond reference tied to decommissioning. Next meeting is June 9.
• Jonesborough, TN: The Board of Mayor and Aldermen will hold a final reading on a municipal code amendment regulating data centers and cryptocurrency mining. The ordinance requires Board approval for all data center applications and sets standards for noise, water usage, electrical demand, and annual reporting.
• Cave City, KY: The council will hold the first reading of Ordinance 26-12-3b amending zoning regulations for data centers. No project has been proposed, but the ordinance is already generating internal friction after a final step involving the Adjustment Board was removed at the mayor's direction.
• Reno, NV: The City Council scheduled a May 14 special meeting to consider a moratorium on data center conditional use permits after more than a year of residents demanding standards. The moratorium follows a two-stage process: a 30-day pending moratorium, then a vote on a final resolution.
• St. Joseph County, IN: The County Council votes on a rezoning proposal that would bring a third data center to New Carlisle. Community and faith leaders are urging a no vote, citing water supply uncertainty and electric rates that have already climbed 17% and 12%. If the rezoning fails, it cannot return for six months.

📅 Upcoming Meetings

• Harford County, MD: Public hearing on 180-day moratorium, May 19.
• Minneapolis, MN: City Council takes up data center moratorium, May 21.
• Charlotte, NC: Public hearing on 150-day moratorium, May 26.
• Charlotte, NC: Formal vote on moratorium expected June 8.
• Harford County, MD: Public hearing on permanent data center ban, June 9.
• Fort Worth, TX: City Council vote on $10B data center site plan, June 23.

👀 In case you missed it...

This week in the Data Center space.

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

Data Centers: Daily Notes | May 14, 2026

Minneapolis lines up a moratorium vote, Calipatria weighs an unusually long five-year pause, and Urbana moves to undo the zoning that let data centers in.

STRisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsDane Artisola

Data Centers: Daily Notes | May 13, 2026

Hill County becomes the first Texas county to pause data center construction, while Harford and Seattle weigh their own bans and a Lebanon County developer walks away from a $1.7 billion project.

STRisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsDane Artisola

Data Centers: Daily Notes | May 12, 2026

Charlotte advances a 150-day moratorium; Red Oak approves 830 acres for Compass despite packed opposition; and Jay County sets some of the strictest setback requirements in the country.

STRisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsDane Artisola

Data Centers: Daily Notes | May 11, 2026

Florida signs its first data center regulation into law; Andover Township reverses course after a viral police confrontation; and a North Carolina developer sues over a moratorium it says violated its vested rights.

STRisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsDane Artisola

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