Bans and Moratoriums
Data center construction has exploded in the US over the past few years, both in numbers and in scale of facilities, driven by Big Tech’s speculative AI “boom.” Confronted with the speed and scope of the buildout, and a permissive regulatory environment that often fast-tracks development, a wide range of communities has sought to slow or stop these facilities. In some cases, localities have prohibited data center construction and expansion altogether, or for certain types of facilities. In others, town or county moratoriums give residents and policymakers a time-bound pause to put in place more comprehensive protections or overhaul regulations. Several statewide moratorium calls are similarly gaining traction.
See Zoning and Land Use for other interventions to limit or restrict data centers. Many of the possible actions to restrict where and how data centers can be built are embedded within zoning code and include limiting siting, setback rules, and distance requirements.
Local Interventions
Local governments have significant authority over the approval process for data centers. Towns, cities, and counties can issue ordinances that ban the construction of new data centers, prohibit the expansion of existing data centers, or restrict data center growth through standalone ordinances or by governing the zoning process. Where data centers cannot be banned outright due to existing laws or political conditions, local governments can build mechanisms throughout the data center approval process to reject data center applications that fail to comply with established city or county goals.
Prohibit or Restrict Data Center Development
Towns, cities, and counties can issue ordinances that ban the construction of new data centers, prohibit the expansion of existing data centers, moratorium or restrict data center growth. Note: Limiting or restricting data centers dovetails closely with zoning requirements, since many of the possible actions to directly limit or restrict where and how data centers […]
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Towns, cities, and counties can issue ordinances that ban the construction of new data centers, prohibit the expansion of existing data centers, moratorium or restrict data center growth.
Note: Limiting or restricting data centers dovetails closely with zoning requirements, since many of the possible actions to directly limit or restrict where and how data centers can be built include limiting siting, setback rules, and distance requirements.
Strong example
Data centers were banned in the Beltline Overlay District in Atlanta, Georgia.
Strong Example
Groton, Connecticut, instituted a ban on data centers larger than 12,500 square feet.
Enact a Temporary Pause on New Data Center Developments (Moratoriums)
Local governments can institute time-bound moratoriums on new data center approvals, usually to give the city or county time to update the municipal code, change zoning restrictions, or issue other regulations. This process may eventually lead to a ban, as was the case in Groton, Connecticut. Moratoriums should last for at least 180 days to […]
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Local governments can institute time-bound moratoriums on new data center approvals, usually to give the city or county time to update the municipal code, change zoning restrictions, or issue other regulations. This process may eventually lead to a ban, as was the case in Groton, Connecticut.
Moratoriums should last for at least 180 days to provide a meaningful opportunity for community notification and engagement.
Strong example
A 180-day moratorium on data centers was instituted in Coweta County, Georgia.
Strong Example
A one-year moratorium on data centers larger than 5,000 square feet was passed in Groton, Connecticut. The town later instituted a ban on data centers larger than 12,500 square feet.
Strong Example
A six-month moratorium was passed in September 2025 in Prince George’s County, Maryland, pausing new data center development.
State & Regional Interventions
States play an important oversight role in the approval process for data centers because they can provide a more holistic review of the total state resources going into data center development. Because data center developers may respond to local bans, moratoriums, and restrictions by moving proposals to adjacent districts with weaker protections, states fill a critical role in providing holistic protections for all state constituents.
Enact a Statewide or Regional Moratorium on Data Center Development
The public impacts of data centers are not limited to the city or county where they are located. When a new data center connects to the grid in one city, utility bills can increase for all customers of that service region (and often across state lines). While strong and important, city- and county-wide moratoriums may […]
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The public impacts of data centers are not limited to the city or county where they are located. When a new data center connects to the grid in one city, utility bills can increase for all customers of that service region (and often across state lines). While strong and important, city- and county-wide moratoriums may simultaneously push data center development into an adjacent area with weaker protections.
A statewide or regional moratorium allows states and public utility commissions to adequately evaluate the risks of data centers and pass widely applicable regulations to protect everyone from the harms of hyperscaler development.
Strong example
Citizens Action Coalition is calling for a statewide moratorium on new hyperscaler data centers used to power AI across Indiana.
Strong Example
Honor the Earth, Indigenous Environmental Network, and the No Data Centers on Native Land Coalition have called for a three-year data center moratorium on tribal lands.
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A moratorium on new data center connections to AEP Ohio’s power grid was in effect until July 2025.
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Food and Water Watch is calling for a national moratorium on all new data centers.
Federal Interventions
Federal policymakers play a limited but important role in the approval process for data centers. Because data center developers may respond to local or state bans, moratoriums, and restrictions by instead targeting adjacent states with weaker protections, the federal government occupies a critical role in providing holistic protections for all constituents.
Enact a Federal Moratorium on New Data Centers Until Public Protections Are in Place
While much of the pushback against specific data centers is occurring within communities where proposed projects will be sited, the public impact of data centers is not limited to the immediate neighborhood where they are located—creating a collective action problem that can be addressed effectively at the federal level. When a new data center connects […]
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While much of the pushback against specific data centers is occurring within communities where proposed projects will be sited, the public impact of data centers is not limited to the immediate neighborhood where they are located—creating a collective action problem that can be addressed effectively at the federal level. When a new data center connects to the grid in one town, utility bills can increase for all customers of that service region. Data center developers are in some cases responding to local moratoriums or local opposition by targeting adjacent districts with weaker protections (as happened recently when a data center project that received pushback in Memphis was moved across the state line, nevertheless impacting the same constituents who breathe the same air and drink the same water).1
Enact a Time-Bound Moratorium
A time-bound, national moratorium on the approval and construction of new data centers would allow local governments, states, and public utility commissions to pass widely applicable regulations to protect their constituents from unrestrained hyperscaler development. For a comprehensive list of state and local policy recommendations, see our North Star Data Center Policy Toolkit: State and Local Policy Interventions to Stop Rampant AI Data Center Expansion.
Strong example
Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ocasio-Cortez announced legislation proposing a moratorium on new construction or updates until Congress passes comprehensive AI legislation.
Strong Example
Over two hundred environmental groups have called for a national moratorium on new data center construction until regulations are put in place.
Strong Example
Honor the Earth, Indigenous Environmental Network, and the No Data Centers on Native Land Coalition have called for a three-year data center moratorium on tribal lands.
Include Anti-Federal Preemption Provisions
If federal moratorium legislation includes any federal regulations, it should include a provision specifying that federal laws will not preempt local and state authority to regulate data centers.
Strong example Language
“Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a state or local government or instrumentality thereof from establishing additional regulations requirements that are more stringent than federal standards. This chapter shall prohibit any federal agency from overriding or circumventing state, tribal, territorial, or local land use, water, environmental, or utility review processes.”
- Sophie Bates, “Elon Musk’s xAI to Build $20 Billion Data Center in Mississippi,” ABC, January 8, 2026, https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/elon-musks-xai-build-20-billion-data-center-129038245. ↩︎