TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: An Ordinance of the City of North Port, Florida, Establishing a Temporary Moratorium on the Acceptance, Processing, Review, Approval, or Issuance of Building Permits, Rezoning, Site Plans, Conditional Use Approvals, Variances, Comprehensive Plan Amendments, or Other City Approvals for the Construction, Establishment, Expansion, or Intensification of Data Centers, Data Center Facilities, Large-Scale Data Centers, and Large Load Customer Facilities Within the Municipal Limits of the City of North Port; Providing Exceptions; Directing Study and Evaluation of Data Center Impact; Providing for Enforcement; Providing for Notice; Providing for Findings; Providing for Conflicts; Providing for Severability; and Providing an Effective Date.
City Commission Options
Option 1: Approve Ordinance No. 2026-25 as presented and continue to second reading on September 8, 2026.
• Pros: Furthers the will of the Commission expressed during the City Commission Regular Meeting held on July 21, 2026.
• Cons: Opens the pathway to legal challenges against the City, especially with a pending data center development application.
Option 2: Don’t approve Ordinance No. 2026-25 as presented and continue to second reading on September 8, 2026.
• Pros: Avoids legal challenges, including any challenge posed by the pending data center development application.
• Cons: Does not further the will of the Commission expressed during the City Commission Regular Meeting held on July 21, 2026.
Background Information
During the City Commission Regular Meeting held on July 21, 2026, Agenda Item 26-0985 went before Commission for the Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Data Center Moratorium. City Attorney Fuino introduced the item including allowable uses in light/heavy industrial zoning, state law consideration, moratorium processes and compliance, effective date options, Ordinance examples, potential legal issues, options, hurricane affected lands, inclusion of process for aggrieved party, and next steps.
Commission questions and discussion took place regarding formal applications received to date, Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) language, ability to modify ULDC and/or Comprehensive Plan, legal ability to mandate mitigation of environmental factors, public notice to enact moratorium and pending Ordinance adoption impact on legal standing, data center definitions and types, hyperscale data centers, job opportunities, environmental impacts, discussion at City Commission Workshop, community engagement, draft Ordinance, Noise Ordinance update, timeline, and tax break incentives.
City staff and the Commission learned during the discussion that a data center development application had been submitted.
A motion was made by Commissioner Stokes, seconded by Commissioner Petrow, to direct the City Manager to immediately issue a public notice and to schedule an agenda item to act on an Ordinance imposing an 18-month moratorium retroactively on accepting and approving any application for any data centers in the City of North Port excluding those properties under SB180 affected by Hurricanes Debbie, Helene, and Milton.
During the City Commission Special Meeting held on July 29, 2026, the Commission directed the City Attorney to create an agenda Item for first reading of the Data Center Moratorium for the City Commission Special Meeting scheduled for August 31, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., with a second reading for the City Commission Regular Meeting scheduled for September 8, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
The attached Ordinance No. 2026-05 creates an 18-month moratorium on the acceptance, processing, review, approval, or issuance of building permits, rezonings, site plans, conditional approvals, variances, comprehensive plan amendments, or other City approvals for the construction, establishment, expansion, or intensification of data centers. The moratorium applies to all applications received after the effective date of Ordinance No. 2026-05 as well as any applications pending on the effective date - including the application that City staff and the Commission learned of during the City Commission Regular Meeting held on July 21, 2026.
Ordinance No. 2026-05 further directs City staff to review the City’s ULDC and related development regulations, and prepare proposed amendments addressing the siting, design, review, compatibility, infrastructure capacity, environmental impacts, water resource impacts, emergency service impacts, public safety impacts, and public facility impacts of Data Centers. Finally, Ordinance No. 2026-05 allows for exceptions to an applicant who believes the impact of the moratorium would create an extraordinary hardship or whom has been affected by Hurricanes Debbie, Helene, or Milton.
Ordinance 2026-25 has been reviewed by the City Attorney and is legally correct as to form.
The Business Impact Statement has been prepared and posted publicly on July 31, 2026, in accordance with Florida Statute Section 166.041.
Strategic Plan Pillar
Economic Development and Growth Management
Good Governance
Financial Impact
Unknown at this time.
Procurement
Not applicable.
Attachments:
1. Ordinance 2026-25
2. Business Impact Statement
3. July 21, 2026 Meeting Minutes
4. July 29, 2026 Meeting Minutes
5. DeSoto County Ordinance 2026-016
Prepared by: Michael Fuino, B.C.S., City Attorney
Rachel Cigich, Business Services Coordinator
Department Director: Michael Fuino, B.C.S., City Attorney