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Hilliard adopts temporary moratorium on data‑center permits after public concerns over water and community impacts
Summary
The Town of Hilliard voted Aug. 1 to adopt ordinance 2026‑05, imposing a six‑month moratorium (with ability to extend) on acceptance, review or approval of permits, rezoning or site plans for data centers and related uses after residents and environmental advocates raised water, energy and surveillance concerns.
The Town of Hilliard on Aug. 1 adopted ordinance 2026‑05, imposing a temporary moratorium on the acceptance, review or approval of applications for permits, rezoning or site plans for data centers, data processing facilities, data mining or cryptocurrency mining operations within town limits.
Several residents and regional advocates urged the council to pause permits while the town studies long‑term impacts. Chad Charland told the council large hyperscale facilities would “destroy our communities and way of life,” saying they would draw on local water and energy and create “mass surveillance centers.” Tory Adams of Saint Mary's Riverkeeper asked the town to match Nassau County’s 12‑month moratorium and said a 100‑megawatt hyperscale data center can consume “up to 2,000,000 gallons of water per day.”
Council discussion centered on moratorium scope and next steps. Members said the pause is written as six months with authority to extend another six months while staff and partners collect data and hold workshops to define land‑use rules by size and usage so essential services (for example hospitals or schools) are not inadvertently restricted. Town Attorney Christian Wadd explained the legal limit of the council’s authority: if a use is already permitted under the zoning code the council could not block it, but because a large data‑center use is not currently permitted the moratorium pauses rezoning, conditional use and site‑plan actions while in effect. “If that use was already a permitted use under our zoning code…we would have to say yes,” Wadd said.
The council approved the ordinance on second and final reading. The adopted moratorium directs staff to study land‑use definitions for data‑center uses and to pursue a chapter 62 amendment with multiple future public hearings and workshops before moving to permanent regulations.
Actions: Ordinance 2026‑05 was adopted on second and final reading; the transcript records motion and a voice vote but does not provide a roll‑call tally.
