Palm Springs Data Center Moratorium (2026)
Palm Springs, CA — Data Center Moratorium: 45-Day Urgency Ordinance (August 26, 2026) Extended Unanimously on September 30, 2026 Through August 25, 2028
Palm Springs, CA · City of Palm Springs, Cal., urgency ordinance — 45-day data center moratorium (adopted Aug. 26, 2026; expires Oct. 10, 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Expires
- August 25, 2028
- Applies to
- The City of Palm Springs, which will not process new data center applications; any prospective data center developer in Palm Springs.
- Enforced by
- City of Palm Springs (planning/zoning)
The Palm Springs City Council unanimously passed an urgency ordinance on August 26, 2026 temporarily prohibiting acceptance, processing, or approval of applications, permits, entitlements, or other approvals related to data centers. The 45-day moratorium expires October 10, 2026. The city scheduled a Sept. 9 progress report and a Sept. 30 hearing on a potential extension ordinance. Concerns include potential demand for electricity and water and impacts on infrastructure. Desert Hot Springs and Indio had already approved temporary moratoriums; Coachella approved a permanent ban the same day.
Who is protected: Palm Springs residents, through a pause on new data center development while the city evaluates potential electricity, water, infrastructure, and community impacts.
Legal detail
Palm Springs urgency ordinance adopted unanimously by City Council, August 26, 2026, prohibiting 'the acceptance, processing or approval of applications and permits related to data centers' for 45 days (to Oct 10, 2026). EXTENSION: on Sept 30, 2026 the council voted unanimously to extend it by 22 months and 15 days, through Aug 25, 2028 (two years in total; the four-fifths vote required by state law was met). The ordinance defines a data center as a structure or site used primarily to store, manage, process and transmit digital data, including server farms, cloud computing and AI processing; equipment secondary to another permitted use (e.g., servers for a hospital, office or hotel) is excluded. Rules will be folded into the citywide zoning code update, and the moratorium is to be rescinded when that code is adopted.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Palm Springs, CA |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | August 26, 2026 |
| Citation | City of Palm Springs, Cal., urgency ordinance — 45-day data center moratorium (adopted Aug. 26, 2026; expires Oct. 10, 2026) |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · government use of AI |
| News report | Palm Springs City Council approves temporary data center moratorium — KESQ |
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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