The Data Center Divide
A policy snapshot ahead of the 2026 midterms. Mapping data center incentives, restrictions, and bans through legislation, regulations, and executive actions across all 50 states and 1,462 local jurisdictions.
Kitsap County
Anti-Data Center Policies
Kitsap County enacted an ordinance clarifying which activities qualify as research laboratories or warehouses, potentially making data center approval under those categories harder; the exact rules are not described.
current law · Unincorporated areasAdopts amendments to Kitsap County Code Title 17 that clarify the definitions of “research laboratories” and “warehousing and distribution,” helping ensure that data centers are not classified under uses inconsistent with the code’s original intent (adopted ordinance).Kitsap County Ordinance 650-2026
What this means
The proposal would clarify which activities qualify as research laboratories or warehouses, after data center applications used those categories (applications for data centers submitted under these use classifications). That could make it harder to obtain approval through those categories, but the source does not describe a ban or the exact new rules.
People behind it
- Kitsap County Department of Community Development
Identified and developed the administrative amendments to Kitsap County Code.
- Kitsap County Board of Commissioners
Considered, approved, and adopted the ordinance amending county code.
Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions1
Allows land divisions into lots smaller than three acres for consumer-owned or investor-owned electric utility facilities, including substations, without exempting the project from zoning or other permitting requirements. The provision applies only to facilities serving a utility’s existing or new customers, with new customers defined as electric-service locations not already in existence when the facilities are planned and constructed.
Sources
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