Data Centers

North Port city commissioners began discussions of a possible 18-month data center moratorium, ultimately agreeing to continue talks for legislation at a special meeting in August.

Sarasota commissioners voted on Wednesday to halt the “acceptance, review and approval” of any major data centers until at least July 2027, but seemed eager to push for an outright ban in perpetuity. The move comes as data center developments become a flashpoint for local governments across the country, including neighboring DeSoto County, which approved a similar moratorium this week.

After nearly three hours of emotional public comment, DeSoto County commissioners on Tuesday took the first step toward a one-year moratorium on data centers. By a unanimous vote, four of the county’s commissioners — one recused himself — agreed to direct the county attorney to prepare language for an ordinance that would bar them from accepting new data center applications in the coming year.

Bonita Springs approved a zoning change for what the application calls a "data center." The application, however, also carries the data center label, which is not exactly describing the project. The application says that label was the only one that was appropriate. Confusion and concern came along with the label.

As DeSoto County leaders have pursued what they hope will become an economic lifeline, they have accelerated reviews and embraced interpretations of county rules that help clear the way for a massive data center project whose environmental impacts remain largely unknown.

In March, DeSoto County voted to rezone 34 acres of land on a decommissioned power plant to allow the company DCIP Group to begin the process of constructing its first data center there, using natural gas supplied from the Florida Gas Transmission Pipeline. County commissioners have embraced the proposal, which they herald as financial salvation that could fill the county’s coffers and help the rural community weather budget shortfalls.

Data center measures killed by county commission and state scuttle's state community college plan for such a data center.

Much of southern Okeechobee County is zoned as agricultural land but a proposal to be discussed by the county board could drastically change the rural landscape in this area of grazing cattle and widely scattered housing.

Hoping to position Florida as the next big destination for large and hyperscale data centers that power artificial intelligence, state lawmakers are weighing how much corporate secrecy is enough but not too much and how to manage the centers’ intensive demands for energy and water where they operate. Sen. Bryan Avila, Miami-Dade Republican, is leading the charge, saying Florida can outcompete motivated states such as Georgia, Virginia and Texas to land the multibillion-dollar projects here, creating thousands of high-tech jobs, tax revenue and related economic development.