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Homewood council adopts 12-month moratorium on large-scale data centers
Summary
Homewood City Council voted 3–0 to adopt an ordinance imposing a temporary moratorium on new or expanded data centers operating above 1 MW while the city reviews zoning, infrastructure, and operational standards. The moratorium lasts 12 months and may be extended once for six months.
Homewood — The City Council on June 22 adopted a temporary moratorium on permitting large-scale data centers in Homewood, voting 3–0 to suspend acceptance, review and approval of applications for facilities designed to operate at more than 1 megawatt of aggregate electrical demand.
In a shortened reading, City Attorney Mr. Jackson told the council the ordinance is intended to "preserve the status quo while appropriate regulations are developed through a public process." The ordinance defines "data center" as facilities used for servers, cloud or artificial intelligence computing infrastructure that operate at or are anticipated to operate above 1 MW; facilities at or below 1 MW are excluded.
Under the ordinance the city will suspend acceptance and processing of rezoning requests, conditional-use permits, site or building permits, certificates of occupancy, utility approvals and similar authorizations for covered data centers. The moratorium runs for 12 months and may be extended once for up to six additional months upon written findings by the City Council.
Council President Simmons made the motion for unanimous consent; Councilor Lane seconded it. A roll-call vote recorded Simmons, Sims and Lane voting "yes," and the measure was adopted as ordinance 2979.
Council members said the move responds to concerns including electrical and water demand, neighborhood compatibility, noise and public-safety implications while the city updates its comprehensive plan and considers use-specific standards. The ordinance’s findings specifically cite potential demands on "electrical infrastructure, water resources, land use compatibility, noise, emergency services, and other matters affecting the public health, safety, and welfare."
The council’s action freezes municipal approvals for larger data-center projects to give staff, the planning commission and the public time to develop tailored regulations. The ordinance does not ban data centers permanently; it suspends municipal permitting for the covered class of projects while the review proceeds.
What’s next: The city will undertake a review of comprehensive-plan objectives and possible zoning or operational standards. Any extension of the moratorium requires a subsequent council finding and vote.
