North Port FL 18-month data center moratorium (2026)

North Port, Fla. (Sarasota County) — 18-month data center moratorium ordinance. FIRST READING: advanced 4-1 (with an exception for the pending proposal) at a Monday-night meeting of nearly seven hours with about 400 public comments, reported by WGCU/Suncoast Searchlight on 2026-09-04; Commissioner Duval supported it on first reading and switched to no on second (Sarasota Magazine); second reading was set for September 22. FINAL ADOPTION: 3-2 on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 (yes: Mayor Pete Emrich, Vice Mayor Barbara Langdon, Commissioner Phil Stokes; no: Demetrius Petrow and David Duval, who said they wanted the pending application stopped more completely). SCOPE: freezes new data center applications while the city studies regulation of water and electricity use, noise, environmental effects, emergency services and infrastructure. PENDING APPLICATION: North Port Holdings 300 LLC's Deep Park proposal (seven buildings, about 896,000 sq ft on about 112.7 acres within a 282-acre concept north of I-75 and south of Yorkshire Street) may keep responding to staff comments and move through processing and technical review, but cannot get final approval during the moratorium. City Attorney Michael Fuino had warned that rejecting the application outright could invite litigation. WGCU reported that the draft contained a clause exempting properties affected by Hurricanes Debby, Helene or Milton under Florida SB 180, and that the city attorney was unsure whether it applied to the pending application. NOT ESTABLISHED: ordinance number, exact effective date, and expiry date (no expires_date computed).