Mattoon IL self-renewing data center moratorium (2026)
Mattoon, IL — City Council Passes a Self-Renewing One-Year Moratorium on Large-Scale Data Centers (21,780+ sq ft) (September 2026)
Mattoon, IL · City of Mattoon, IL data center moratorium resolution (Sept. 1, 2026)
- Status
- Enacted (not yet in effect)
- Applies to
- Developers of data centers of 21,780 sq ft or more in Mattoon
- Enforced by
- City of Mattoon Community Development and Planning
Mattoon's City Council voted 5-0 on September 1, 2026 to pause large-scale data center development for a year. The pause renews automatically every year unless the council passes a resolution to end it, which requires a public hearing first. During the pause, the city bars construction of data centers of 21,780 square feet or more and will not accept applications for new ones. City officials said no one had approached them about building a data center; water use was a main concern after a water crisis last year.
Who is protected: Mattoon residents
Legal detail
City of Mattoon (Coles County, IL) resolution, 5-0, Sept 1, 2026. Term: one year, automatically renewing annually unless ended by resolution after a required public hearing. Scope: prohibits construction of any data center at or over 21,780 sq ft and bars acceptance of applications for new developments during the moratorium. Drafted by Community Development and Planning Director Alex Benishek, who said Mattoon, as a non-home-rule municipality, lacks authority to ban data centers outright. Mayor Rick Hall and council said no data center inquiries had been received. NOT ESTABLISHED: resolution number; effective date if different from adoption. Corroborated by WAND-TV (Sept. 1, 2026: unanimous Tuesday-night vote; Commissioner David Phipps: auto-renews after one year if council takes no action) and Effingham Radio (Sept. 9). Status 'enacted' because no effective date is stated.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Mattoon, IL |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | September 1, 2026 |
| Citation | City of Mattoon, IL data center moratorium resolution (Sept. 1, 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Not stated in the located sources |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · government use of AI |
| News report | Mattoon City Council passes moratorium on data center development — The Daily Eastern News |
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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