Cle Elum WA emergency data center moratorium (2026)

Cle Elum, Washington — Emergency Six-Month Data Center Moratorium Adopted Unanimously Three Days After a $200 Million 20 MW Proposal, Which a 2002 Development Agreement May Allow Through Anyway (July 31, 2026)
Cle Elum, WA · City of Cle Elum, Wash. — emergency six-month data center moratorium (adopted July 31, 2026)

Status
In effect
Expires
January 31, 2027
Applies to
Developers seeking data center approvals in Cle Elum, potentially excluding Blue Fern Development if the 2002 development agreement is held to permit the use
Enforced by
City of Cle Elum / Cle Elum City Council

Cle Elum's City Council unanimously adopted an emergency six-month moratorium on new data centers on Friday, July 31, 2026 — three days after Blue Fern Development unveiled plans for a 100,000-square-foot, 20-megawatt computing facility near Interstate 90 representing roughly $200 million of investment. The site would use a closed-loop cooling system to limit water use. Council members moved fast, citing power demand, water consumption, mechanical noise, heat and emergency generators, and said the pause would give them time to study how a facility of that size would affect electricity demand, water supplies and the community generally. A public hearing to examine those impacts was set for September 8, 2026. The council was also honest about the moratorium's limits at the moment it passed, which is rare enough to record. Councilmember Steven Harper cautioned that the moratorium was 'not a magical Band-Aid' and could not necessarily override an existing development agreement. The Blue Fern site is covered by a DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT APPROVED IN 2002, and city officials were still working out whether a data center qualifies as an already permitted commercial or industrial use under it. If it does, the project may be reviewed under the older rules and the moratorium will not stop it. This entry is recorded at limited strength for that reason.

Who is protected: Cle Elum, Washington residents; city electricity and water supply — subject to the 2002 development agreement question

Legal detail

City of Cle Elum, Wash. (Kittitas County) — EMERGENCY six-month moratorium on new data centers, adopted UNANIMOUSLY by the City Council on Friday, July 31, 2026. TIMING: three days after BLUE FERN DEVELOPMENT unveiled plans for a 100,000-SQUARE-FOOT, 20-MEGAWATT data center near Interstate 90, representing approximately $200 MILLION of investment and proposing a CLOSED-LOOP COOLING SYSTEM to reduce water use. The emergency designation permitted immediate adoption without the ordinary notice period \u2014 the same procedural device used in Knox County TN Flock camera ban and removal order (2026) and Madison County AR three-year data center moratorium (2026), here deployed to close a three-day window. STATED CONCERNS: power demand, water consumption, mechanical noise, heat and emergency generators; the pause is to permit study of effects on electricity demand, water supplies and the community. PROCEDURAL FOLLOW-UP: a public hearing on impacts was scheduled for September 8, 2026. THE 2002 DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT IS WHY strength IS `limited`: the Blue Fern site is covered by a DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT APPROVED IN 2002, and city officials were still determining whether a data center qualifies as an already permitted COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL USE under that agreement. If it does, the project may be reviewed under the pre-existing rules and the moratorium will not reach it. COUNCILMEMBER STEVEN HARPER SAID SO ON THE RECORD at adoption: the moratorium was 'not a magical Band-Aid' and could not necessarily override the existing development agreement. A 24-YEAR-OLD DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT DEFEATING A 2026 MORATORIUM is the most extreme instance of the vested-rights limit documented in this dataset \u2014 compare Rockford IL six-month data center moratorium (2026) (annexation agreement), Salem OR 120-day data center moratorium (Res. 2026-40) (pre-filed application), Lowell MA Markley data center diesel generator injunction (2026) (litigation settlement) and Athens OH data center moratorium Ord. 70-26 (2026) (site outside the city limits). WASHINGTON CONTEXT: Cle Elum lies in Kittitas County in central Washington; the state separately regulates ALPRs under RCW 10.130 (see Elma WA temporary ALPR moratorium (2026)), an unrelated subject.

Key facts

JurisdictionCle Elum, WA
LevelCity / local
StrengthLimited
EnactedJuly 31, 2026
CitationCity of Cle Elum, Wash. — emergency six-month data center moratorium (adopted July 31, 2026)
Private right of actionNo, agency enforcement only
PenaltiesNew data center development applications may not proceed during the six-month emergency moratorium, subject to the 2002 development agreement question
Topicsdata-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI
News reportCle Elum passed a data center ban. One might be built there anyway — The Spokesman-Review

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