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The Data Center Divide

City of Tulsa

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

Strongly Pro-Data Center Policies

Tulsa’s zoning defines data centers as low-impact industrial uses in eligible areas, while an enacted permit pause through December 31, 2026, exempts two Project Anthem phases and allows appeals.

Rating from Tulsa County as there are no scored current or future laws outside temporary restrictions for City of Tulsa.

current law · City of Tulsa
Would amend Tulsa’s zoning code to address River Design Overlay (RDO) rules, low-impact industrial uses, data centers, wireless communication facilities, and data-center parking, with the draft amendments applying to proposed zoning standards.Tulsa Ordinance 24-987 (2024)

What this means

The amendment makes data centers a defined, low-impact industrial use, which may make siting them in eligible industrial areas easier (“data centers” listed as a low-impact use). It adds some limits on data-center towers and sets minimum parking, but these appear modest overall (tower limits and parking rules).

Timing

Ends
Dec 31, 2026

The moratorium on new data center construction expires on this date. The council may extend it if more research is needed.

People behind it

  • Identified with the City Council initiation of amendments to define data centers and establish related regulations.

  • Requested initiation of a re-evaluation of Tulsa’s data-center regulations and asked the Planning Office to review them.

  • Develops the proposed amendments for consideration by TMAPC and City Council.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements5

  • The source reports a moratorium on new data center development, effective March 25 and expiring December 31, 2026. The moratorium’s stated dates

  • In River Design Overlay areas, an MPD on less than 20 contiguous acres cannot vary or modify the RDO regulations. For MPDs covering at least 20 contiguous acres, plans must remain consistent with the RDO’s purpose and intent; if the build-to zone is modified, the MPD must provide trail or street-edge activation through other RDO principles. The RDO rules for MPDs

  • Data centers must provide minimum parking. For facilities up to 200,000 square feet, the requirement is 1 space per 1,000 square feet of office area and 0.18 space per 1,000 square feet of warehouse, storage, or technology-equipment area. Above 200,000 square feet, the latter rate is 0.15 space per 1,000 square feet; the office-area rate remains unchanged. The data center parking rates

  • Towers accessory to a data center are limited to 100 feet in height and must be at least 200 feet from the property boundary, unless the Board of Adjustment grants a special exception for additional height or a different location. The tower height and boundary limits

  • Towers and antennas must be designed to blend into their surroundings. Outside IL, IM, and IH districts, communication towers must be monopoles unless the Board of Adjustment approves an alternative by special exception. Antennas mounted on other structures, and their supporting electrical and mechanical equipment, must closely match or complement the structure’s color. The tower and antenna requirements

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions4

  • The measure places data centers in the Low-impact Manufacturing and Industry category and expressly lists them among its examples. The category’s description describes uses that do not normally generate noticeable off-site impacts from noise, smoke, particulate matter, odors, or vibration.

  • An MPD-zoned property with at least 20 contiguous acres is exempt from the RDO regulations, provided its plans are consistent with the RDO’s purpose and intent. The measure also allows build-to-zone rules to be modified in a qualifying MPD; if modified, the plan must demonstrate activation along the trail or street edge and meet the other stated RDO conditions. The RDO provisions

  • Towers may be principal or accessory uses, and another use on the same lot does not prevent a tower from being installed. A tower accessory to a data center is limited to 100 feet in height and must be at least 200 feet from the property boundary, unless the Board of Adjustment grants a special exception for greater height or a different location. The tower requirements

  • The measure sets data-center parking minimums by area: for centers up to 200,000 square feet, office space requires 1 space per 1,000 square feet and warehouse, storage, or technology-equipment space requires 0.18 space per 1,000 square feet; above 200,000 square feet, the latter rate is 0.15 space per 1,000 square feet. The data-center parking standards

Sources

current law · City of Tulsa
Would impose a 365-day moratorium on accepting applications for, processing, and issuing building permits authorizing construction of or property use for a data center in Tulsa, with exception and appeal processes and an emergency clause.Tulsa Ordinance 26-196 (2026)

What this means

The proposal would stop most new data center building permits in Tulsa until December 31, 2026, a major barrier to development. It exempts two Project Anthem phases and allows appeals, and it does not stop existing centers from operating, but the pause still makes new projects substantially harder to move forward (moratorium and exceptions).

Timing

Ends
2026-12-31, or earlier on the effective date of an ordinance amending data center regulations

The ordinance states the moratorium runs through December 31, 2026, unless data center regulations are amended sooner. A subsequent ordinance may modify the repeal date. Project Anthem Phase 1 and, if appropriately zoned, Phase 2 are excepted.

People behind it

  • Spearheaded the moratorium.

  • Assigned to provide periodic progress reports during the moratorium on the review of data-center regulations and recommendations to Council. The ordinance requires 60-day reports.

  • Asked by Council, together with the Planning Office, to re-evaluate the city’s data-center regulations and provide recommendations. The ordinance records that request.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements2

  • The moratorium bars the City from accepting or processing applications for, or issuing building permits allowing construction on or use of property for a data center. It takes effect upon adoption, approval, and publication and runs through December 31, 2026, or until a data-center zoning amendment takes effect, whichever is earlier; a later ordinance may change the repeal date. Exceptions apply to Project Anthem Phase 1 and one additional data center associated with pending zoning case Z-7851, if and where appropriately zoned. No application for a building permit through December 31, 2026 Project Anthem Phase 1

  • An affected property owner seeking another exemption must appeal to the City Council, which may grant one only for good cause shown. The City Council shall hear any appeal.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions3

  • Exempts the Project Anthem Phase 1 data center on the property identified in Exhibits A and B from the moratorium. The exemption is tied to the project plan and supporting incentive district approved by Ordinance 25288. The moratorium shall not apply to a Data Center

  • Exempts one additional Project Anthem data center covered by pending zoning case Z-7851, but only if and where it is appropriately zoned. One additional Data Center

  • Allows an affected property owner to appeal to the City Council and request a moratorium exemption; the Council may grant one for good cause shown. may grant an exemption

Sources

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