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Regbase

The Data Center Divide

Washington County

This restriction takes precedence while in effect. The rating below excludes temporary restrictions.

Mixed Data Center Policies

Washington County has enacted a 12-month pause on most approvals for building or expanding data centers in unincorporated areas, including permits and utility extensions. Existing approved facilities and routine maintenance are exempt.

Rating from Florida statewide as there are no scored current or future laws outside temporary restrictions for Washington County.

Specific to Washington County only.

current law · Unincorporated areas
Prohibits Washington County from accepting or approving most data center development applications in unincorporated areas for 12 months while it studies new rules.Washington County, Florida Data Center Moratorium Ordinance No. 2026-____

What this means

The measure would pause most approvals for building or expanding data centers in unincorporated Washington County for 12 months, including permits and utility extensions. Existing approved facilities and routine maintenance are exempt, but the pause would make new development substantially harder during that period.

Timing

Ends
twelve months from the effective date of the Ordinance

The moratorium applies for twelve months unless earlier repealed by the Board of County Commissioners. The Ordinance becomes effective immediately upon filing with the Florida Department of State, but the filing date is not provided.

People behind it

  • Adopted the data center moratorium ordinance and is responsible for overseeing the moratorium and related regulatory review.

  • Moved for approval of the data center moratorium ordinance.

  • Seconded the motion to approve the data center moratorium ordinance.

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  • Read the ordinance by title, presented revisions, and provided legal guidance concerning the moratorium.

  • Assigned to study data center impacts and develop potential Comprehensive Plan and land development regulation amendments during the moratorium.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements2

  • Imposes a 12-month moratorium, effective upon adoption/effectiveness, throughout unincorporated Washington County on accepting, processing, reviewing, approving, issuing, or granting applications and approvals for establishing, expanding, or constructing a data center. The moratorium covers comprehensive-plan amendments, rezonings, special exceptions, conditional uses, site plans, development orders and permits, building permits, utility extensions, and any other required land-use or development approval. It generally applies to facilities used primarily for data storage, processing, transmission, mining, or distribution, including facilities exceeding the 5% gross-floor-area or 250-kilowatt thresholds; earlier repeal is allowed. Exceptions include facilities with all required approvals and a valid building permit before the effective date, certain non-conflicting routine maintenance or repairs, government-owned emergency or public-safety facilities, governmental facilities, certain telecommunications facilities, existing businesses using incidental servers, and facilities lawfully operating when the ordinance takes effect.

  • Provides that the ordinance creates no vested rights for any data-center applicant or property owner, so an applicant or owner cannot rely on the ordinance to establish protected development rights.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions7

  • Facilities that already had all required local development approvals and a valid building permit before the ordinance took effect are exempt from the moratorium and may proceed.

  • Routine maintenance, repairs, replacements, and modifications to existing facilities are exempt, provided they do not conflict with the ordinance’s data-center definitions.

  • Existing businesses may continue using servers when the servers are incidental to their primary business operations, because those businesses are excluded from the definition of a data center.

  • Facilities where servers and related equipment are incidental and subordinate to the principal use are excluded from the definition if they occupy no more than 5% of gross floor area and have a combined nameplate electrical demand of no more than 250 kilowatts.

  • Facilities lawfully operating when the ordinance takes effect are excluded from the definition of a data center, protecting their continued operation.

  • Government-owned emergency communication and public-safety facilities are exempt from the moratorium.

  • Government facilities used solely for governmental purposes and telecommunications facilities regulated under state or federal law are excluded from the data-center definition.

Sources

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