Consideration of Data Center Moratorium Until End of 2026

Item Public Hearing and Consideration of Approval of Ordinance No. 4091 Declaring a Moratorium Until December 31, 2026 on the Acceptance of Applications for the Processing and Issuance of Rezoning Requests and Building Permits that Would Allow Construction on, Expansion of, or Use of Property for Purposes of Locating or Operating a Data Center Within the City of Edmond; Defining Data Center; Providing for an Appeal Process; Providing for Effective and Expiration Dates; Providing for Repealer and Severability; And Declaring an Emergency. (Citywide) Background There has been a nationwide increase in the construction and use of data centers. The City's current development code is found in Titles 21, 22, and 23 of the Municipal Code. These titles do not have provisions applicable to data centers. The impact of data centers relative to water usage, electrical usage, noise pollution, light pollution, infrastructure adequacy, water and air quality, and various other potential issues are yet to be determined. A temporary moratorium will act as an interim control measure and allow time to evaluate the impact of data centers, consult subject-matter experts, and hold public hearings in order to appropriately inform potential regulations applicable to data centers. Those potential regulations will be incorporated into an updated development code, the drafting of which is currently underway. This ordinance declares a temporary moratorium on the acceptance of applications for the processing and issuance of rezoning requests and building permits that would allow construction on, expansion of, or use of, real property located in the City of Edmond for purposes of locating or operating a data center, as defined in Section 2 of the ordinance. No application for a rezoning request or application for a building permit which would allow for construction of a building or structure for such use shall be accepted or processed by the City of Edmond, and no building permit shall be issued for the same, until December 31, 2026, or the effective date of an duly adopted regulations applicable to data centers, after which the moratorium shall automatically expire and be null and void; provided that the expiration date may be modified by the enactment of a subsequent ordinance by the Mayor and Council of the City of Edmond. Time Frame If approved with the emergency clause, the ordinance would go into effect immediately. If approved without the emergency clause, the ordinance would go into effect thirty days after approval. City of Edmond: http://www.edmondok.gov For our Social Media Usage Policy, please visit http://www.edmondok.gov/socialmedia #CityofEdmond