Pinellas Park FL one-year data center moratorium (2026)
Pinellas Park, Florida — City Council Unanimously Imposes a One-Year Data Center Moratorium While Staff Draft Land Development Code Amendments on Design, Review, Land Capability and Water Resources (2026)
Pinellas Park, FL · City of Pinellas Park, Fla. — one-year data center moratorium (2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Expires
- August 11, 2027
- Applies to
- Developers seeking data center approvals in Pinellas Park during the 12-month moratorium
- Enforced by
- City of Pinellas Park; Land Development Code administration
Pinellas Park City Council unanimously voted at its Tuesday meeting to impose a ONE-YEAR moratorium on data center development. The work programme attached to it is unusually specific. During the twelve-month period city staff will examine the LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE and create proposed amendments addressing DESIGN, REVIEW AND LAND CAPABILITY, ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCE IMPACTS. 'Land capability' is the term worth noticing — it asks whether a given parcel can physically support the use at all, which in a low-lying Gulf coast county is a different question from whether the zoning permits it. Most moratoriums in this dataset promise to study impacts; naming land capability alongside design and review means the city intends to write siting criteria, not just operating conditions. A city official, Biron, placed the measure in context by noting that PASCO, MANATEE AND LAKE COUNTIES, among others, had adopted data center moratoriums during the year — an accurate description of a Florida wave this dataset documents at Levy County, Putnam County, Flagler County, Escambia County, Palm Beach County, Panama City and Bay County, alongside the state transportation department's revocation of every ALPR permit on state highway rights-of-way.
Who is protected: Pinellas Park residents in Pinellas County, Florida; local water resources
Legal detail
City of Pinellas Park, Fla. (Pinellas County) — ONE-YEAR MORATORIUM on data center development, imposed by UNANIMOUS vote of the City Council at its Tuesday meeting. WORK PROGRAMME: during the 12-month period City staff will EXAMINE THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE and CREATE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS addressing DESIGN, REVIEW AND LAND CAPABILITY, ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCE IMPACTS. 'LAND CAPABILITY' IS THE ANALYTICALLY INTERESTING TERM: it addresses whether a parcel can PHYSICALLY SUSTAIN the use \u2014 soils, drainage, elevation, water availability \u2014 which is distinct from whether zoning permits it, and it is a siting criterion rather than an operating condition. In a low-lying Gulf coast county that question carries real content; compare Mount Vernon WA six-month data center moratorium (2026), whose stated rationale included the city's HIGH FLOOD RISK and which this dataset records as the only entry concerned with water REACHING a facility rather than being consumed by it. Most moratoriums here promise to 'study impacts' without specifying what the resulting rules would regulate; naming design, review AND land capability indicates an intent to produce siting standards. CONTEXT PROVIDED ON THE RECORD: city official Biron noted that PASCO, MANATEE AND LAKE COUNTIES, among others, adopted data center moratoriums during 2026 \u2014 none of which is separately indexed and all three are leads. FLORIDA COHORT: Levy County FL data center moratorium Ord. 2026-05 (2026), Putnam County FL data center moratorium (2026), Flagler County FL 1-year data center moratorium, Escambia County FL large-scale data center ban (2026), Palm Beach County FL one-year large data center moratorium (2026), Panama City and Bay County FL data center moratoria (2026) and Florida FDOT statewide ALPR permit revocation (2026). NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH pinellas-fl-ai-guidance-2025, which is Pinellas County AI guidance and an unrelated instrument.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Pinellas Park, FL |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | August 11, 2026 |
| Citation | City of Pinellas Park, Fla. — one-year data center moratorium (2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data center development may not be approved during the 12-month moratorium |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| News report | Pinellas Park imposes moratorium on data center development — St Pete Catalyst |
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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