Springville council adopts one-year moratorium on data centers after public concern

Springville’s city council voted to enact a one-year moratorium on data-center development, a step members said is intended to give the planning and zoning commission time to develop land-use rules.

Alan Thomas, a candidate for State House District 50, urged the council to act during public comment, saying recent state legislation (SB71) constrains state environmental protections and that local caution is warranted: "The data center could potentially harm that, could impact, could threaten it," Thomas said, adding concerns about whether such facilities would be used for cryptocurrency mining or mass data collection.

The presiding officer responded to those concerns by stressing there is "no plan, no project in the pipeline" in Springville and described the moratorium as a proactive measure so the planning commission can craft guidelines. Council members voted to suspend the rules to take up the ordinance and then approved the measure on a roll-call vote; the council declared the city would have a one-year moratorium while regulations are developed.

Council discussion noted both economic-development considerations and environmental and privacy questions. Supporters said the pause allows the city to study neighboring jurisdictions’ approaches; at least one council member asked for more information before moving forward but the motion carried.

The ordinance (recorded in the meeting as 2026DashO8) takes effect immediately for a 12-month period; the council directed planning and zoning to draft regulatory language during that time. The mayor said planning and zoning now "is on the clock" to produce recommendations.

Next steps: the planning and zoning commission will prepare regulations for the council’s consideration during the moratorium year.