Birmingham council adopts temporary suspension on large data center permits after extended public hearing

The Birmingham City Council voted March 3 to adopt a temporary suspension on permitting for large and hyperscale data centers while city staff proceeds with draft zoning amendments and public engagement.

Katrina Thomas, director of Planning, Engineering and Permits, told the council staff has completed draft zoning amendments and that the moratorium’s purpose is to “maintain the status quo while staff researched and drafted appropriate land-use standards,” noting the draft would exclude projects under 20 megawatts and would not apply to applications already deemed complete. “There are two pending applications,” Thomas said; those applications, she said, would continue under current regulations and are not automatically subject to the moratorium.

Hunter Garrison, deputy director of the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability, summarized…