Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Federal Way council enacts 12‑month emergency moratorium on data centers
Summary
The City Council voted unanimously July 7 to impose a 12‑month emergency moratorium blocking siting, creation or expansion of data centers that exceed 1 megawatt or 4,000 sq. ft., citing concerns about water, power and neighborhood impacts while staff study potential long‑term rules.
The Federal Way City Council voted unanimously July 7 to adopt an emergency ordinance imposing a 12‑month moratorium on siting, creating or expanding medium‑to‑large data centers in the city.
City Administrator Kent Van Alstyne told the council the temporary ban would apply to any data center with a planned capacity greater than 1 megawatt or a gross floor area exceeding 4,000 square feet. He said the emergency declaration would make the moratorium effective immediately upon adoption if at least five councilmembers vote in favor.
"The combined and cumulative impacts of large electrical loads, emissions, and water use associated with newer, expanded data centers may exceed local infrastructure capacity and resource supply," Van Alstyne said in his presentation, noting studies that link large facilities to local temperature increases, higher emissions and noise. He told the council staff would prepare a work plan and study potential code amendments during the moratorium.
Council President Honda moved the ordinance onto tonight’s agenda and later moved its immediate approval. Councilmember Hamilton and others said the action is meant to preserve the city’s ability to consider regulations carefully and to prevent speculative applications while staff completes a regulatory review. The motion to suspend council rules for single‑reading passage and the ordinance adoption both passed by voice vote.
The ordinance directs staff to develop a regulatory work plan over the next 12 months and schedules a statutory public hearing within 60 days; Van Alstyne identified Sept. 1, 2026 as the hearing date. After the study and any proposed code changes, council would consider post‑moratorium actions; the ordinance as drafted is set to expire July 6, 2027, unless extended or replaced by new regulations.
Van Alstyne cited other Washington jurisdictions that recently adopted similar temporary limits, and said Federal Way’s thresholds (1 MW/4,000 sq. ft.) target medium‑to‑large facilities rather than small server rooms already present at some municipal or business sites.
The ordinance prohibits acceptance, processing and approval of applications for affected data center uses while it is in force and requires the city to present potential regulatory options to council during the moratorium period. A public hearing will allow residents to comment before any permanent code changes are proposed.
