LAKELAND, Fla. — The City Commission of the City of Lakeland voted 4-3 to pass a one-year moratorium on the development of large-scale data centers on Monday.
The proposed moratorium would temporarily prohibit new data centers and other large electrical users with projected peak demands of 50 megawatts or more.
Tampa Bay 28's Chad Mills covered the public hearing on the ordinance on Aug. 3.
Mills said those who voted for the moratorium agreed the city needs a temporary pause to further study data centers and their impact, and put guardrails in place
According to Mills, three commissioners voted against the moratorium because they felt the language was too broad and would unfairly impact smaller data center operation expansions.
The conversation stems largely from a data center proposal, referred to as Project Swan, that calls for a 600,000-square-foot data center near Old Tampa Highway and Wilkinson Road, which is a few miles west of downtown Lakeland.
Tampa Bay 28's Larissa Scott was at the July 21 city commission meeting, where leaders took the first step in moving forward with a 1-year pause on any such development.
RELATED COVERAGE
- After backlash over Project Swan, some call for data center moratorium in Lakeland
- Lakeland residents voice concerns over proposed data center
- Lakeland begins drafting one-year moratorium for large-scale data centers
- Lakeland residents urge data center moratorium as Project Swan developer defends proposal
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Chad Mills calls Polk County home and has witnessed the area’s growth firsthand. He is focused on sharing stories from his neighbors in Lakeland. You can use the form below to connect with Chad.
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