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.
Yakima County
This restriction takes precedence while in effect. The rating below excludes temporary restrictions.
Mixed Data Center Policies
Yakima County enacted a resolution described in its rationale as a proposed, initially six-month pause on data-center permits in unincorporated areas. It delays new projects but is not a permanent ban and does not require existing centers to close.
Rating from Washington statewide as there are no scored current or future laws outside temporary restrictions for Yakima County.
Specific to Yakima County only.
current law · Unincorporated areasWould declare a zoning moratorium on placing data centers in the unincorporated areas of Yakima County and was listed for Board consideration at the October 6, 2026 meeting, with the agenda item and resolution document identifying no fiscal impact.Yakima County Resolution 253-2026 (2026)
What this means
The proposed moratorium would temporarily prevent permits for data centers in unincorporated Yakima County; the minutes describe an initial six-month period (no permits can be approved during the moratorium). This would substantially delay new projects, but it is not a permanent ban and does not cover the entire county or say existing centers must stop operating.
Timing
- Ends
- for 6 months
The data-center moratorium is described as an initial moratorium lasting 6 months, during which the Board must schedule a public hearing. The agenda also includes a separate battery-energy-storage-system moratorium, but its expiration terms are not stated in the provided sources.
People behind it
- Board of Yakima County Commissioners
Introduced and unanimously approved the zoning moratorium on data centers in unincorporated Yakima County.
- Yakima County Planning Division
Administered the moratorium process and began researching its legal, economic, agricultural, environmental, and public-health implications.
Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements2
A six-month zoning moratorium prohibits approval of permits for data centers in the unincorporated areas of Yakima County.
During the moratorium, the Board of County Commissioners must schedule a public hearing to receive testimony before deciding how to proceed.
Sources
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