Wickliffe enacts 12‑month moratorium on data‑center permits to 'buy time' for planning

Wickliffe City Council voted June 22 to adopt Ordinance 2026‑39, imposing a moratorium of up to 12 months on filing, consideration or issuance of zoning or occupancy permits for data centers as a principal use in the city.

The legislation follows a committee discussion in which Councilman Lavon introduced a draft ordinance and the committee majority recommended the moratorium to allow the planning commission and building department time to develop qualifications and review potential environmental and land‑use impacts. “This ordinance buys city council time to review data centers as it allows us to investigate further,” the committee report said.

Councilman Dziworski said he opposed the measure in committee, arguing the city lacks suitable land for large data‑center complexes and that the moratorium may be unnecessary if no applications exist. The measure proceeded to final reading after council voted to suspend the rules and then adopted the ordinance.

The moratorium halts acceptance and processing of applications involving data centers for up to 12 months; the ordinance also declared an emergency to place it into effect immediately. Councilmembers said the pause is intended to let staff and the planning commission craft site qualifications, environmental checks and permit checklists before any new applications move forward.

Next steps outlined by council include directing the law director and planning staff to draft implementing legislation and to report back to council with recommendations during the moratorium period. The ordinance does not create new permitting standards yet; rather, it preserves time for the administration and the planning commission to prepare substantive criteria.

The vote on final adoption was recorded in the roll call during the meeting.