Data Centers: Weekly Briefing // September 7 - 10, 2026

📋 This Week's Decisions

Just Passed ✔️

Moratoriums Approved

• Zeeland Township, MI: The board approved a new year-long moratorium on data centers and energy facilities, repealing and replacing a prior one the same night, to protect local planning authority while the township updates its master plan.
• Lake County, IL: The County Board approved an eight-month moratorium on data center development in unincorporated areas, following more than 1,200 public comments. The pause doesn't affect Grayslake's $18 billion T5 campus, which just received its first building permit for an 800,000-square-foot facility, since that project was already approved at the municipal level.
• Levy County, FL: Commissioners unanimously approved a three-year moratorium on new data centers and other large-scale, heavy-power facilities in unincorporated areas, running through Sept. 30, 2027, to give staff time to study water, electricity and infrastructure impacts given the county's reliance on the Floridan Aquifer.
• Springhill Township, PA: Supervisors approved a temporary ban on new data center and power-plant applications while tabling votes on two more detailed ordinances until Sept. 17 to meet state notice requirements. The delayed rules would set 200-foot property-line setbacks and daytime/nighttime noise limits, prompted by Nadara's interest in 800 acres near Gans.

Regulations Passed

• Christiansburg, VA: Town Council voted 6-0 to require conditional use permits for all data center proposals, ending their previous by-right status in industrial zones, with officials acknowledging the change could slow or halt future applications.

Projects Approved

• Kearney City, NE: The City Council unanimously approved Project Horizon, expanding an existing cryptocurrency data center into a 368-megawatt facility using up to 5 million gallons of water annually, after adopting ten pages of new regulations covering water efficiency, noise limits and conditional-use review. Developers agreed to add sound-deafening walls to reduce existing humming complaints.
• Festus, MO: City Council voted 5-2 to approve annexation of three more parcels tied to CRG's $6 billion, 360-plus-acre hyperscale campus, finalized just before a new state law limiting Jefferson County annexations took effect, prompting neighboring Crystal City to sue over the restrictions.

Projects Denied/Withdrawn

• Eugene, OR: City officials rejected a buyer's proposal to build a data center at the former Hynix plant, ruling the use prohibited under the site's employment-focused zoning; the decision can be appealed to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
• Clinton Township, PA: Supervisors unanimously rejected Lindy Corporation's proposal for a 20-building data center campus after nearly six months of review, with a township engineer concluding the plan wasn't environmentally sound; attorneys will meet with the developer within 15 days on the deficiencies, leaving a revised submission possible.
• Pinal County, AZ: Supervisors voted 4-1 against Vermaland's proposed 3,300-acre data center campus south of Eloy, which would have been Arizona's largest, even after the developer scaled it from 59 buildings and two gas plants down to 11 buildings and one.

💬 Catch Up on Discussions

• New Hampshire: Gov. Kelly Ayotte said she opposes any data center locating in the state and plans to include a multi-year moratorium in her upcoming budget, which wouldn't take effect until July 2027 unless she issues an executive order sooner. She cited a potential hyperscale project in Bow and confirmation from ISO-New England that a large data center would raise regional energy prices; House Democrats separately plan to propose a 24-month moratorium in the 2027 session.
• Connecticut: Gov. Ned Lamont said the state will not host massive AI data centers, warning they'd consume too much electricity and could raise rates, though he left room for smaller projects that supply their own utilities and win local approval. He noted the state's 2021 tax incentive program for data centers drew little interest and has since been scaled back.
• Grant County, NM: Residents were caught off guard when a legal notice revealed Site Layer 1 LLC's plan for a natural gas-powered data center near Hachita and Playas that could consume 2.3 million cubic feet of gas hourly. A county commissioner is proposing a one-year moratorium modeled on Socorro County's ordinance, to be considered Sept. 24; the project's only listed address is an empty Manhattan office floor.
• Chillicothe, OH: Residents voiced frustration over a lack of information on a proposed data center at the former Pixelle paper plant after a councilman refused to sign an NDA during a site tour. Developer Alignment Engine says the facility would use 28 million gallons of water daily but return it cleaner, rely on self-generated power, and create 240 jobs without seeking tax breaks.
• Imperial County, CA: A Superior Court judge halted development of a nearly 1 million-square-foot data center complex, ruling the county violated CEQA by approving a lot merger without environmental review, siding with lawsuits from the City of Imperial and the Sierra Club. Developer Sebastian Rucci vowed to appeal, citing $12 million in projected annual tax revenue.
• Ferguson, MO: City Council introduced a revived proposal to redevelop the former Emerson Electric headquarters into a large-scale data center, reviving a plan that stalled in May, now adding a $7.5 million developer commitment to a neighborhood improvement fund alongside $1 billion in industrial revenue bonds and long-term tax abatements. A second reading is scheduled in two weeks.
• Rock County, WI: Supervisors are weighing five resolutions on data centers, including a 13-member advisory committee and a nondisclosure agreement policy, after a staff committee voted 6-3 to recommend them; a state senator submitted comments backing NDA restrictions, citing secrecy around a proposed project in Turtle.
• Charlotte, NC: A city committee reviewed a staff study on data center impacts following June's 150-day moratorium, finding effects vary widely by facility type; a community forum found 78% of survey respondents opposed to data centers, and staff recommended extending the moratorium, which otherwise expires Nov. 5.
• Gallatin, TN: City leaders unanimously advanced a proposed 12-month moratorium on new data centers, setting up a formal vote next week, after the Planning Commission recommended the pause 5-2 to help distinguish smaller edge facilities from hyperscale projects like Meta's existing campus in the city.
• Fort Wayne, IN: Councilwoman Rohli Booker introduced legislation to pause council actions on data centers for one year and create a nine-member commission to study large developments, following resident opposition to Google's now-operational $2 billion campus. The measure received unanimous support for introduction.
• Lubbock, TX: City Council unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution pledging to hold off on large-scale data centers until rules on water, electricity, setbacks, screening and lighting are drafted, while separately holding a hearing on a petition-led 18-month moratorium set for a vote later this month.
• Eastport, ME: The city held a public hearing on citizen-initiated ordinances targeting DeepGreen Holdings' proposed underwater AI data center in the Western Passage, as the resident coalition ECHO seeks intervenor status in FERC's permitting process; FERC accepted DeepGreen's preliminary permit application in August.
• Gorham, ME councilors voted unanimously to send a proposed permanent ban on data centers to the planning board for a public hearing, building on a temporary moratorium enacted in June.
• Orange County, FL Vice Mayor Kelly Martinez Semrad proposed a one-year moratorium on new AI data center applications, citing a projected 96-million-gallon-per-day groundwater shortfall by 2045; the proposal goes to the county commission Sept. 15.
• Raritan Township, NJ officials reintroduced a revised data center ban ordinance clarifying that small accessory server rooms remain permitted, with planning board review and a public hearing set for Sept. 15.
• Trenton, OH City Council unexpectedly revived and approved a ballot initiative banning data centers just before the November election deadline, after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in the petitioners' favor; the same night, the city presented a plan to annex 601 acres for an Amazon Web Services campus, which both affected townships formally oppose.
• Mount Pleasant, SC officials are set to debate a 120-day moratorium on data center proposals to close potential loopholes allowing hyperscale facilities in light industrial zones, with the mayor stressing such centers "will not be permitted."
• Burgin, KY will restart its annexation process for Panattoni's proposed hyperscale campus after an earlier annexation of more than 1,000 acres was voided, as President Trump warns against opposing data centers and Gov. Andy Beshear defends communities' right to reject them.
• Escambia, FL commissioners are preparing hearings for a new 12-month moratorium targeting mid-sized data centers between 10 and 50 megawatts, adding to a July resolution barring them as principal uses and an August ban on large-scale facilities.
• Fort Madison, IA's council directed its Planning & Zoning Commission to continue developing a "High Infrastructure Impact Development" ordinance imposing escalating review requirements on data centers based on their infrastructure demand.
• Jasper County, SC Council approved on first reading a temporary moratorium on new data centers, cryptocurrency mining and data-processing facilities in unincorporated areas, with additional readings still required before it becomes law.
• Licking County, OH residents in Heath and Johnstown are pressing for special elections after missing the deadline to place data center charter amendments on the November ballot, mirroring measures already adopted in ten other Ohio communities.

📅 Upcoming Meetings

• Charlotte, NC: Council discusses next steps on the moratorium, Sept. 14; the current moratorium expires Nov. 5.
• Gallatin, TN: Formal council vote on the moratorium, expected the week of Sept. 14.
• Raritan Township, NJ: Planning board review and public hearing on the ban ordinance, Sept. 15.
• Orange County, FL: Commission meeting on the proposed moratorium, Sept. 15.
• Springhill Township, PA: Votes on the data center and power plant ordinances, Sept. 17.
• Grant County, NM: Commission considers the proposed one-year moratorium, Sept. 24.
• Escambia, FL: Public hearings on the new moratorium, tentatively Oct. 1 and Oct. 15.

👀 In case you missed it...

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

Data Centers: Daily Notes | September 10, 2026

Lake County approved an eight-month moratorium on data center development; Eugene rejected a proposed data center; Clinton Township; Ferguson; Imperial County; Christiansburg; Levy County; Licking County. READ MORE.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsGenelaine Urbano

Data Centers: Daily Notes | September 09, 2026

Arizona officials are divided over whether to pause data center development; Fort Wayne; Rock County; Lubbock; Chillicothe; Gallatin; Charlotte; Jasper County; Grant County; Kearney City. READ MORE.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsGenelaine Urbano

Data Centers: Daily Notes | September 08, 2026

Mount Pleasant officials are considering a 120-day moratorium on data center proposals; Jasper County; Trenton; Pinal County; Escambia; Fort Madison; Springhill Twp; Eastport. READ MORE.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsGenelaine Urbano

Data Centers: Daily Notes | September 07, 2026

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte said she plans to seek a multi-year moratorium on data centers; Connecticut; Gorham; Zeeland Township approved a new one-year moratorium on data centers; Orange County; Raritan Township; Trenton; Festus. READ MORE.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsGenelaine Urbano

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