Snohomish County WA six-month data center moratorium (2026)
Snohomish County, Washington — Six-Month Data Center Moratorium in Unincorporated Areas, Adopted June 24, 2026 and Tested at an August Public Hearing Where 13 Residents Spoke
Snohomish County, WA · Snohomish County, Wash. — six-month data center moratorium in unincorporated areas (adopted June 24, 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Expires
- December 24, 2026
- Applies to
- Developers seeking data center approvals in unincorporated Snohomish County; incorporated cities within the county are unaffected
- Enforced by
- Snohomish County Planning and Development Services / Snohomish County Council
The Snohomish County Council adopted a six-month moratorium on data centers within UNINCORPORATED Snohomish County on June 24, 2026, set to expire in December 2026. The issue first appeared at a June 16, 2026 meeting of the council's Planning and Development Services Committee, so the county moved from committee to adoption in eight days. On Wednesday, August 19, 2026, the council held a public hearing on the already-passed moratorium and heard from thirteen residents; Senior Legislative Analyst Deb Bell briefed the council. The sequence — adopt first, hold the hearing afterwards — is the standard Washington pattern for an interim ordinance, and it is the same order Chewelah followed. It is worth understanding because it looks backwards to anyone expecting a hearing before a vote: Washington law permits a county or city to adopt an interim official control immediately and then hold a public hearing within a set period to justify continuing it. That is what allows a jurisdiction to close the filing window before a developer can react, which several jurisdictions in this dataset failed to do and lost their project over. The territorial limit is the usual one for county authority: unincorporated areas only, so the cities inside Snohomish County legislate for themselves.
Who is protected: Residents of unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington
Legal detail
Snohomish County, Wash. — SIX-MONTH MORATORIUM on data centers within UNINCORPORATED Snohomish County, ADOPTED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL ON JUNE 24, 2026, set to EXPIRE IN DECEMBER 2026. ORIGIN: the issue first appeared at a JUNE 16, 2026 PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE meeting \u2014 eight days from committee to adoption. POST-ADOPTION HEARING: the County Council held a public hearing on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 regarding the existing moratorium, hearing from 13 RESIDENTS, with Senior Legislative Analyst DEB BELL briefing the council. THE ADOPT-THEN-HEAR SEQUENCE IS THE STANDARD WASHINGTON INTERIM-CONTROL PROCEDURE and is worth understanding rather than mistaking for irregularity: Washington law permits a county or city legislative body to adopt an interim official control WITHOUT prior public hearing and then hold a hearing within a prescribed period to justify continuing it. THAT PROCEDURE IS WHAT ALLOWS A JURISDICTION TO CLOSE THE FILING WINDOW IMMEDIATELY \u2014 the failure this dataset documents repeatedly, where Salem OR 120-day data center moratorium (Res. 2026-40), Rockford IL six-month data center moratorium (2026), Cle Elum WA emergency data center moratorium (2026) and Lowell MA Markley data center diesel generator injunction (2026) each failed to reach the project that motivated them because a filing, agreement or settlement landed first. Chewelah WA emergency data center moratorium (2026) followed the same order. TERRITORIAL LIMIT: unincorporated county only; incorporated cities within Snohomish County retain their own land-use authority and are unaffected \u2014 the same boundary recorded on Dorchester County MD one-year data center moratorium (2026), Logan County KY 12-month data center moratorium (2026) and Cottage Grove WI 18-month data center moratorium (2026), where a village had to act because the county pause did not reach it. NO SUBJECT-MATTER THRESHOLD OR DEFINITION is stated in the located source.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Snohomish County, WA |
|---|---|
| Level | County |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | June 24, 2026 |
| Citation | Snohomish County, Wash. — six-month data center moratorium in unincorporated areas (adopted June 24, 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data center approvals are paused in unincorporated areas for the six-month term |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| News report | Snohomish County holds public hearing on data center moratorium — goSkagit |
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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