TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Data Center Moratorium.
Recommended Action
Provide staff direction whether to adopt, or begin the process of adopting, a data center moratorium.
City Commission Options
Option 1: Instruct staff to draft a proposed data center moratorium ordinance for the City Commission’s review.
• Pros: Permits the City time to study data centers to propose future regulatory framework.
• Cons: Susceptible to legal challenges.
Option 2: Instruct staff to not draft a data center moratorium Ordinance for Commission’s review.
• Pros: Avoids legal challenges.
• Cons: Does not allow the City time to study data centers to propose future regulatory framework.
Background Information
This agenda item was Commission requested. The City Attorney has drafted the item to provide legal context for the issue.
Data centers are typically defined as a physical facility or building that houses computer servers, data storage systems, and network equipment. There are two general types of data centers: traditional and hyperscale. While there are no standard definitions of the two, the major differences are:
Traditional data centers:
• Generally, much smaller, average 100,000 square feet.
• Require 50 acres of land or less.
• Use considerably less water and power than hyperscale.
• Typically used by multiple companies. The building is owned by a colocation company or managed service provider and the interior server racks are leased to numerous individual companies and organizations (banks, medical facilities, Cities/Counties) to house their servers and Information Technology (IT) equipment when they do not have the facilities/room at their own offices.
Hyperscale data centers:
• Very large, up to 1 million+ square feet
• Require 100+ acres
• Significantly more water and power usage (power may be >100MW)
• Typically owned and used by one major company (Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft) for Cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) processing.
The City’s Unified Land Development Code does not specifically identify data centers as a separate defined use. However, data centers have traditionally been included in either Light Industrial or Heavy Industrial land use categories. Additionally, data centers may be an essential services use. Therefore, data centers may be permissible uses in the City’s zoning districts allowing for those uses.
This legislative session the Florida Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, Senate Bill (SB) 484. See Ch. 2026-65, Laws of Fla. Amongst other provisions, this law specifies that local governments maintain the authority for comprehensive planning and land development regulations pertaining to data centers. Id. at § 1, p. 2. The law also creates section 373.262, Florida Statutes which prohibits the Department of Environmental Protection and Water Management Districts from issuing a water use permit to a large-scale data center - defined as a single location with a data center that has an anticipated monthly peak load of 50 megawatts or more - if the proposed water use is harmful to the water resources of the area or is prohibited by applicable local government zoning regulations and the comprehensive plan. Id. at § 4, pp. 5-7.
SB 484 may be in tension with other portions of Florida law regulating land use and zoning, including SB 180 which was passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by the Governor during the 2025 legislative session. See Ch. 2025-190, Laws of Fla. That law provides that each county listed in the Federal Disaster Declaration for Hurricanes Debby, Helene, or Milton - and each municipality within any of those Counties - cannot:
1) Propose or adopt any moratorium on construction, reconstruction, or redevelopment of any property damaged by such hurricane;
2) Propose or adopt more restrictive or burdensome amendments to its comprehensive plan or land development regulations; or
3) Propose or adopt more restrictive or burdensome procedures concerning the review, approval, or issuance of a site plan, development permit, or development order. Id. at § 28(1), pp. 26-27. These restrictions sunset on October 1, 2027. Id.
Several Counties and municipalities around the State have adopted, or in the process of adopting, moratoriums addressing data centers. Moratoriums are typically adopted by ordinance, and several issues should be considered before adopting one, including:
• Whether the moratorium itself is a more burdensome or restrictive regulation or procedure;
• Whether the City should exclude properties damaged by Hurricanes Debby, Helene, or Milton;
• Whether the moratorium should apply to pending applications - which could implicate an applicant’s vested rights - or whether it should only apply to applications received after ordinance enactment; and
• A reasonable length of time the moratorium should be in place for.
Strategic Plan Pillar
Infrastructure & Facilities Integrity
Financial Impact
None at this time.
Procurement
Not applicable.
Attachments:
1. Zephyrhills Ordinance 1523-26
2. Hernando Ordinance 2026-15
3. Senate Bill 484
4. Senate Bill 180
Prepared by: Michael Fuino, B.C.S., City Attorney
Department Director: Michael Fuino, B.C.S., City Attorney