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Clay County commissioners discuss 12‑month moratorium on data centers to craft local rules
Summary
Commissioners debated a proposed one‑year moratorium on data‑center development to allow staff to define local zoning and safety standards, and said they will engage Nassau County staff for lessons learned; no ordinance was adopted at the May 26 meeting.
Clay County commissioners on May 26 discussed proposing a 12‑month moratorium on data‑center development to give county staff time to develop local land‑use rules and guardrails. Commissioners raised concerns that Clay County’s zoning code is currently silent on data centers and that an application could arrive before the county has established standards.
County legal staff and the county manager said the board’s direction at its prior meeting was to follow an approach similar to Nassau County, where a moratorium was used to pause new applications while staff developed regulations. The county attorney noted the ordinance provided by Nassau is structured as a 12‑month moratorium and said Clay County staff planned to form an internal study group and to meet with Nassau County managers to learn from their process.
Speakers emphasized that a moratorium would buy time to define planning, fire‑safety and operational standards rather than permanently bar data centers. Commissioners also discussed legal mechanics: some explained that in Nassau County an application may still be processed (and the moratorium could be suspended) if one is filed, and the county attorney noted the text of the moratorium ordinance provided to Clay County showed it stopping new applications for the 12‑month period as written in that draft.
No formal motion to adopt a moratorium occurred at the meeting; commissioners instructed staff to convene an internal study group and to coordinate with Nassau County staff to draft potential local regulations and an ordinance for consideration at a future meeting.
