La Crosse County WI 18-month data center moratorium (2026)
La Crosse County, WI — Board of Supervisors 18-Month Data Center Moratorium in County-Zoned Areas (June 18, 2026)
La Crosse County, WI · La Crosse Cnty., Wis. — 18-Month Data Center Moratorium (June 18, 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Expires
- December 18, 2027
- Applies to
- Data center developers seeking approvals on land under La Crosse County zoning authority; county zoning and planning staff.
- Enforced by
- La Crosse County Zoning, Planning & Land Information / County Board of Supervisors
The La Crosse County Board of Supervisors voted 26-2 on June 18, 2026 to impose an 18-month moratorium on new data center decisions and development, with supervisors Ken Schlimgen and Jeff Fimreite voting no and two members absent. The pause holds data center actions while a special committee studies the industry's likely environmental and economic effects. That committee was set up the month before, in May 2026, and is deliberately broad: it includes several board members plus a representative from each of the 18 municipalities in La Crosse County, so the towns and villages have a seat even where the county cannot regulate them. The important limit is jurisdictional — the moratorium only reaches land where county zoning has authority, which means most of those 18 municipalities are not covered by it. The City of La Crosse closed part of that gap by adopting its own 18-month moratorium on August 13, 2026.
Who is protected: Residents of county-zoned (largely unincorporated) La Crosse County, through an 18-month pause while an ad hoc committee including every municipality studies environmental and economic impacts. Residents of the county's incorporated municipalities are NOT covered by this measure.
Legal detail
La Crosse County, Wis. Board of Supervisors moratorium, adopted 26-2 on June 18, 2026 (two supervisors absent; recorded no votes: Ken Schlimgen, Jeff Fimreite). Eighteen-month pause on county decisions and development relating to data centers. JURISDICTIONAL LIMIT — the material qualification: the moratorium binds only land subject to county zoning authority, so the majority of the county's 18 incorporated municipalities fall outside it and must act for themselves. Institutional component: an ad hoc data center study committee established May 2026, composed of board members plus one representative from each of the 18 municipalities, reporting recommendations to the Executive Committee and the full Board of Supervisors. Companion municipal action: City of La Crosse 18-month moratorium adopted August 13, 2026 with a 1 PB / 2 MW capacity threshold (see La Crosse WI city 18-month data center moratorium (2026)). expires_date computed as 18 months from adoption. Resolution number not obtained.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | La Crosse County, WI |
|---|---|
| Level | County |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | June 18, 2026 |
| Citation | La Crosse Cnty., Wis. — 18-Month Data Center Moratorium (June 18, 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | County data center decisions and approvals are paused during the moratorium |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · government use of AI |
| News report | La Crosse County Board approves data center moratorium — WXOW |
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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