City Council advances ordinance declaring moratorium on data-center permits

Cleveland City Council announced Ordinance 5 56 20 26, a proposed moratorium on the review and issuance of zoning permits, certificates of occupancy and other license or permit applications for data centers in the city.

The clerk read the ordinance as amended, saying it would cover permits handled by the Department of Public Utilities and pause approvals for data-center development while the council and staff complete administrative and committee review. The ordinance text lists sponsors as council members Slife, Casey, Santana and Griffin.

Supporters of the moratorium framed it as a time-limited pause to allow the city to evaluate zoning, infrastructure impacts and utility requirements for large-scale computing facilities. The council record shows the measure was placed on the second-reading emergency calendar for further consideration and potential passage at this meeting cycle; the transcript does not record final adoption for this specific ordinance in isolation.

If enacted, the moratorium would affect new permit applications and the issuance of certificates tied to data-center projects until council or staff complete the planned review. The clerk’s reading did not include a staff report with an explicit sunset date or detailed technical findings; those details would be resolved in committee or a subsequent legislative action.

The council’s consideration of the moratorium occurred amid a lengthy consent and legislative calendar that included many departmental contracts, public-works projects and grant applications.