Manatee County and North Port both move to pause data center development

Two local governments have moved to hit pause on data center development this month, joining a growing list of Florida counties doing the same. Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously to enact a 12-month moratorium, effective September 22, blocking new applications for large-load facilities with heavy electrical or water demands. Commissioners cited concerns that data centers — which can occupy hundreds of acres — could strain the county's water supply and electrical grid, and said the pause gives staff time to write proper regulations, since none currently exist. Meanwhile, North Port's path was far more dramatic: a public hearing on its own proposed moratorium stretched nearly seven hours, with hundreds of residents packing City Hall to voice opposition to a proposed 896,000-square-foot data center project already under review. Commissioners voted 4-1 to advance an 18-month moratorium, freezing new applications and final approval of that pending project while regulations catch up. Both moves follow a new Florida law, Senate Bill 484, which took effect in July and explicitly preserves local governments' authority to deny or impose stricter standards on data center projects.