Foley AL six-month data center moratorium (2026)
Foley, Alabama — City Council Approves a Six-Month Temporary Moratorium on Applications for Data Centers to Give Staff Time to Study How Such Facilities Could Affect the Community (September 2026)
Foley, AL · Foley, Ala. — six-month temporary moratorium on data center applications (2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Expires
- March 9, 2027
- Applies to
- Data center developers in Foley during the moratorium
- Enforced by
- Foley City Council
The Foley City Council approved a SIX-MONTH temporary moratorium on APPLICATIONS for data centers, to give staff time to study how such facilities could affect the community. The scope is worth noting: the pause reaches APPLICATIONS, which is the point at which a project first engages the city's process and, in most states, the point after which a developer begins accruing rights that can defeat a later restriction. This dataset records several moratoria that failed because they arrived after an application was already on file. Foley sits in Baldwin County on the Alabama Gulf Coast, and it joins a small but growing Alabama cluster — Tarrant adopted a 12-month pause citing caution ahead of any development, and Chelsea a one-year measure in July. Brookwood went the other way, approving annexation and rezoning for a proposed data center near a middle school. Six months is at the short end of the range in this dataset, which implies a compressed drafting timetable.
Who is protected: Residents of Foley, AL
Legal detail
Foley, Ala. (Baldwin County) — SIX-MONTH TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON APPLICATIONS for data centers approved by the City Council, the Council having 'approved the measure to give staff time to study how such facilities could affect the community.' SCOPE REACHES APPLICATIONS, which is the operative protection: an application that cannot be filed cannot ripen into a vested interest, the failure mode recorded at Inver Grove Heights MN data center moratorium amended under lawsuit (2026) (a filed application became a $150M damages demand), Rockford IL, Cle Elum WA, Salem, Lowell and Athens. DURATION: six months is at the short end (cf. Steuben County IN six-month data center moratorium (2026), Dickson County TN six-month data center moratorium (2026), Yakima County WA six-month data center moratorium (2026) at six; Independence County AR five-year data center moratorium (2026) at sixty), implying a tight drafting timetable and an elevated chance of an extension request. ALABAMA CLUSTER: Tarrant AL 12-month data center moratorium (2026) (12 months, mayor citing caution ahead of any development) and Chelsea AL one-year data center moratorium (2026) (one year, 2026-07-21); on the enabling side, Brookwood's council approved annexation and rezoning for a proposed data center near Brookwood Middle School, dispositioned in the triage ledger as an enabling action. NOT ESTABLISHED: the vote, the exact date, the ordinance number, and any threshold.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Foley, AL |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | September 9, 2026 |
| Citation | Foley, Ala. — six-month temporary moratorium on data center applications (2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Not stated in the located source |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| News report | Foley approves 6-month data center moratorium — FOX 10 / WALA (Mobile, AL) |
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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