Government
SJC BOCC Poised To Ban Data Center Construction Until November 2027
The measure was first proposed by Commissioner Ann Taylor in June.
By Fabrizio Gowdy
St. Johns County Commissioners are poised to enact a one-year pause on new data center construction after county staff presented a proposed moratorium at their Oct. 6 meeting.
If the ordinance wins final approval at the Nov. 3 meeting, it would prohibit new medium or large-scale data center campuses from Nov. 15, 2026 through Nov. 15, 2027.
The ordinance is a preemptive measure in response to community concerns — there are no major data centers currently operating in St. Johns County or any applications to build one.
The ordinance directs county staff to use the 12-month pause to evaluate potential regulations for data center siting, size, infrastructure, water and energy use, environmental impacts, noise, traffic and emergency management.
Commissioner Ann Taylor initially proposed the moratorium in June. She asked Deputy County Attorney Kealey West to address calls from some residents who wanted to see a permanent ban, not just a temporary pause.
“We cannot ban development in that nature,” said West, pointing to state statutes prohibiting localities from imposing undue burdens on development. “You can’t do an all out moratorium.”
If commissioners adopt the moratorium next month as they are expected to, St. Johns would join most other counties in Northeast Florida in pausing new data center construction. Nassau approved a moratorium in early June, which was followed by Clay a couple of weeks later and Flagler in August.
Just in the past week, commissioners in Leon and Manatee counties gave their final approval to temporary moratoriums, and Martin County commissioners advanced a pause of their own.
The ordinance specifies that the moratorium applies to large-scale data centers as defined by Florida statutes, as well as medium-scale data center developments, which it defines as facilities that typically house 2,000 to 5,000 computer servers and require 5 to 49 megawatts of electricity. Estimates vary, but 1 megawatt of power can generally power several hundred homes.
The Nov. 3 BOCC meeting will start at 9 a.m.