Clark County IN one-year data center moratorium (2026)
Clark County, IN — Commissioners Unanimous One-Year Data Center Moratorium in Unincorporated County (August 27, 2026)
Clark County, IN · Clark Cnty., Ind. — One-Year Data Center Moratorium (Aug. 27, 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Expires
- August 27, 2027
- Applies to
- Developers seeking to construct data centers in unincorporated Clark County, IN; county planning and zoning officials.
- Enforced by
- Clark County (IN) Planning and Zoning / Board of Commissioners
The Clark County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data center construction in the unincorporated county at its August 27, 2026 meeting. The county had been weighing it since early July, when commissioners first signalled they might consider a pause on data center zoning. Clark County sits across the Ohio River from Louisville, and the county action followed its own largest city: Jeffersonville adopted a one-year municipal moratorium on August 3, 2026. Southern Indiana municipalities moved quickly on data center zoning through mid-2026, and between the city and county measures most of the county is now covered — though the River Ridge Commerce Center, built on the former Indiana Army Ammunition Plant, remains outside local zoning authority under federal and state reuse statutes and an interlocal agreement vesting control in the River Ridge Development Authority.
Who is protected: Residents of unincorporated Clark County, Indiana, through a one-year pause on data center construction. Incorporated municipalities are covered by their own measures, and River Ridge Commerce Center land is outside county zoning authority entirely.
Legal detail
Clark County, Ind. Board of Commissioners ordinance imposing a one-year moratorium on data center construction in unincorporated Clark County, adopted unanimously at the August 27, 2026 commissioners' meeting. Jurisdictional scope: unincorporated county only — incorporated municipalities regulate for themselves, and Jeffersonville separately adopted its own one-year moratorium on August 3, 2026 (see Jeffersonville IN one-year data center moratorium (2026)). Procedural history: the county publicly raised the possibility of a data center zoning moratorium in early July 2026 amid a broader and rapid southern Indiana municipal response. Residual gap shared with the Jeffersonville measure: the River Ridge Commerce Center occupies the former Indiana Army Ammunition Plant, where federal and state military reuse statutes and a decades-old interlocal agreement leave ultimate zoning authority with the River Ridge Development Authority rather than with the city or the county — neither moratorium reaches it. Ordinance number not obtained; expires_date computed as one year from adoption. NAME DISAMBIGUATION: distinct from Clark County, NEVADA (Las Vegas), which appears in this dataset as Clark County NV STELLAR AI Framework and which was separately debating data center standards in July 2026 — coverage of the two counties ran in the same period under near-identical headlines.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Clark County, IN |
|---|---|
| Level | County |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | August 27, 2026 |
| Citation | Clark Cnty., Ind. — One-Year Data Center Moratorium (Aug. 27, 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data center construction is not approved in unincorporated areas during the moratorium |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · government use of AI |
| News report | Clark County Commissioners approve data center moratorium — News and Tribune |
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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