Boxelder County approves 180-day moratorium on data centers after widespread public concern

Boxelder County commissioners voted unanimously May 27 to adopt Ordinance 654, placing a 180-day moratorium on data centers and data-center power plants while the county reviews zoning, siting and approval standards.

The motion to adopt Ordinance 654 was made by Commissioner Perry and seconded by Commissioner Bingham; the commissioners voted in favor verbally during the meeting. County staff said the temporary regulation gives the county a six-month window to develop rules that would govern where and how data centers and associated power generation can be sited.

Scott Lions, director of Boxelder County Community Development, described the moratorium as a temporary land-use regulation that allows the county to consider options such as overlay zones and specific review standards for potentially disruptive uses. "This moratorum if we pass the way I've read it... gives us that six-month window so we can start to put some parameters in place," Lions said during the hearing.

The county attorney clarified the moratorium's scope for the record: applications filed before adoption may proceed under existing rules, while applications filed after the adoption must be held until the moratorium expires or new regulations are adopted. "If an application's been filed before today that proceeds forward; anything filed after today then it has to be put on hold," the county attorney said.

The adoption followed more than three hours of public comment in which dozens of residents raised a mix of technical, environmental and procedural concerns. Speakers repeatedly pressed the commission for data on water use, power source and long-term ecological impacts, and many said they felt the project approval process had been opaque.

"Facts carry more weight than assumptions. Evidence carries more weight than emotion. And transparency builds trust," said Jack Strickney, a 26-year county resident who urged the commission to use the moratorium to require rigorous scientific and engineering study.

Other speakers described local impacts in personal terms. Christine Williams, a North Garland resident, said her subdivision lacked fire hydrants and that the insurance on her home increased by roughly $100 per month because of that deficiency; she warned that new wells drilled for a data center could affect nearby domestic wells. Miguel Durant asked whether power for such facilities would come from existing grid infrastructure, gas turbines or other sources and whether water recycling would be used.

Support for the moratorium also came from residents who urged a longer pause or substantive changes to the county's general plan. "Six months is not enough," one speaker told the commission, urging a 12-month study period and explicit language identifying data centers as incompatible with the county's rural character.

Opponents of moratoria argued for property-rights protections. Some residents said that restricting development after landowners have legal rights to sell could invite litigation and financial exposure for the county.

Next steps outlined by staff include drafting potential zoning amendments, review standards and overlay options for planning-commission consideration during the moratorium period. The moratorium will lapse after 180 days unless the commission adopts new regulations or extends the temporary prohibition.