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Regbase

The Data Center Divide

City of Cleveland

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

Mixed Data Center Policies

Cleveland has enacted a temporary pause on permits and other approvals for new standalone data centers and expansions, lasting up to three months with a possible three-month extension.

Rating from Ohio statewide as there are no scored current or future laws outside temporary restrictions for City of Cleveland.

current law · City of Cleveland
Establishes an emergency moratorium on reviewing and issuing use and building permits, certificates of occupancy, and other licenses or permits for expanding an existing standalone data center or establishing a data center as the principal use in a standalone facility or building, including approvals issued by the Department of Public Utilities.City of Cleveland Ordinance 556-2026 (2026)

What this means

The measure would pause permits and other approvals for new standalone data centers and expansions of existing standalone data centers, preventing those projects from moving forward during the pause. It lasts up to three months, with a possible three-month extension, so the barrier is strong but temporary (up to three months, unless extended).

Timing

Ends
The earlier of the effective date of an ordinance regulating or prohibiting data centers or three months after the moratorium ordinance's effective date

The moratorium applies to the expansion of an existing standalone data center or establishment of a data center as a principal use in a standalone facility or building. Council may extend it for an additional three months if it determines more time is needed for review.

People behind it

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of measures concerning data centers, airport building automation, the Cleveland Clinic pedestrian bridge, and related legislation.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of numerous measures, including departmental-request legislation, housing assistance, public improvements, contracts, and Council administration.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of Utilities Committee measures concerning data centers, Cleveland Public Power, water infrastructure, and utility contracts.

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  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of measures concerning data centers, street and alley vacations, property transactions, housing assistance, and public improvements.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of measures concerning water-main improvements, parks programming, property transactions, public improvements, and City Hall renovations.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of measures concerning street naming, alley vacations, green infrastructure, property transactions, and public improvements.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of measures concerning public safety grants, weapons-screening systems, software purchases, towing operations, and community-development programs.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of measures concerning emergency medical services, employee programs, and related City legislation.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of measures concerning the BioWatch grant, outdoor refreshment areas, and public-health legislation.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of measures concerning street and property encroachments, tax-increment financing, and event permits.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of measures concerning street naming, senior lawn care, youth workforce programming, and honorary street naming.

  • Named sponsor or co-sponsor of the resolution concerning the appropriation of property for Fire Station No. 23.

  • Mayor identified as the sponsor or proposing official for measures concerning the outdoor refreshment area and the Brook Park–Cleveland settlement agreement.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering measures concerning Cleveland Public Power, water infrastructure, utility contracts, interconnection, net metering, and the Oracle billing system.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering measures concerning emergency medical-service agreements, public-safety grants, weapons-screening systems, and automated license-plate readers.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering the airport building-automation-system contract and related airport legislation.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering the BioWatch grant, courier contracts, and food-access programming.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering family and youth programming, youth football programming, and wholesale tree-supply contracts.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering employee training, employee-assistance, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Lifestyle Spending Account programs.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering public improvements, property transactions, right-of-way encroachments, green infrastructure, and railroad-bridge legislation.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering financial-advisory contracts, moral-claim payments, funding certifications, and related financial measures.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering housing assistance, tax-increment-financing agreements, and senior-center funding.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering neighborhood-equity, casino-revenue, youth-programming, and community-development agreements.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering senior lawn-care and home-repair agreements.

  • Authorized or responsible for administering the City's codified-ordinances publishing agreement and Council constituent-management-system amendment.

  • Proponent and implementing party for the Superior Avenue Railroad Bridge and track replacement improvement.

  • Grant applicant and implementing party for the Capital Theatre/Gordon Square parking-lot green-infrastructure improvements.

  • Permit applicant and operator of the proposed blade-sign encroachment on Detroit Avenue.

  • Permit applicant and responsible party for the overhead pedestrian bridge over Lorain Avenue.

  • Permit applicant and responsible party for building overhang and balcony encroachments into public rights-of-way.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements3

  • Imposes a moratorium on reviewing and issuing all use, building, zoning, occupancy, utility, and other licenses or permits for expanding an existing standalone data center or establishing a data center as the principal use in a standalone facility or building.

  • The moratorium begins on the ordinance’s effective date and ends when either a data-center-regulating or prohibiting ordinance takes effect or three months elapse, whichever occurs first.

  • The moratorium may be extended by Cleveland City Council for one additional period of up to three months if Council determines that more time is needed to review the issue and decide what action is appropriate.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions3

  • Ordinance 621-2026 authorizes interconnection to Cleveland Public Power’s electric system for qualifying facilities and eligible large commercial or industrial customers, including related agreements. A data center would benefit only if it meets the ordinance’s eligibility requirements and complies with the required process.

  • Ordinances 587-2026 and 588-2026 amend Cleveland’s rules for distributed-generation interconnection and net-metering service, providing a regulatory framework for eligible facilities to connect generation to Cleveland Public Power’s system and receive net-metering treatment.

  • The data-center moratorium in Ordinance 556-2026 is time-limited: it ends when a regulating or prohibiting ordinance takes effect or three months after the moratorium’s effective date, whichever is earlier. Council may extend it only once for an additional three months if it determines more review is needed.

Sources

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