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Leon County
Board of County Commissioners Cover Sheet for Agenda #24 October 13, 2026 |
| To: | Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board |
| From: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
| Title: | Second and Final Public Hearing to Adopt an Ordinance to Establish an 18-Month Moratorium on Large-Load Customer Facilities, including Large-Scale Data Centers |
| Review and Approval: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
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Department/Division Review and Approval: |
Ken Morris, Assistant County Administrator Chasity H. O’Steen, County Attorney Nawfal Ezzagaghi, Assistant County Administrator Scott Brockmeier, Director, Development Support & Environmental Management |
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Lead Staff/ Project Team: |
Ryan Culpepper, Director, Development Services Division Gretchen Brantley, Assistant County Attorney Ana Richmond, Development Services Administrator |
Statement of Issue:
This agenda item requests the Board conduct the second and final required public hearing and adopt an ordinance establishing an 18-month moratorium pausing the acceptance, review or approval of applications for development permits, development orders, rezoning, or site plans related to large-load customer facilities, including large-scale data centers, consistent with the scope of Senate Bill 484, as enacted in Chapter 2026-65, Laws of Florida.
Fiscal Impact:
This item has no fiscal impact.
Staff Recommendation:
Option #1: Conduct the second and final public hearing and adopt an Ordinance establishing an 18-month moratorium on large-load customer facilities, including large-scale data centers (Attachment #1).
Report and Discussion
Background:
As directed by the Board at its July 14, 2026 meeting, this item requests that the Board conduct the second and final required public hearing and adopt an ordinance establishing an 18-month moratorium pausing the acceptance, review, or approval of applications for development permits, development orders, rezoning, or site plans related to large-load customer facilities, including large-scale data centers as defined in Chapter 2026-65, Laws of Florida (“Senate Bill 484”). The Board conducted the first public hearing on September 15, 2026, and scheduled the second and final public hearing for October 13, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.
Senate Bill 484 became effective on July 1, 2026, and emphasizes the unique planning, infrastructure, and compatibility considerations that large-load facilities with substantial electric or other utility demands present, including large-scale data centers, and provides that such considerations and the associated impacts shall be addressed through local comprehensive planning and land development regulations. Neither the Leon County Land Development Code (“Code”) nor the Tallahassee-Leon County 2050 Comprehensive Plan (“Comp Plan”) contain specific provisions addressing large-load customers or data centers of any size. As a result, the County currently does not have a regulatory framework to evaluate the compatibility, infrastructure, and utility-demand impacts SB 484 directs be addressed through comprehensive planning and land development regulations. This moratorium provides the time necessary for staff to develop Code and Comp Plan amendments establishing such a framework before applications are received, reviewed, or approved.
Consistency with Senate Bill 180 (2025)
In June 2025, the Florida Legislature enacted Senate Bill 180, enacted in Chapter 2025-190, Laws of Florida ("SB 180"). Section 28 of SB 180 applies to counties listed in the Federal Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Debby (DR-4806), Hurricane Helene (DR-4828), or Hurricane Milton (DR-4834). Leon County is listed in the disaster declarations for Hurricanes Debby and Helene, and is therefore subject to Section 28, which through October 1, 2027, prohibits a local government listed in the Declaration from proposing or adopting: a moratorium on the construction, reconstruction, or redevelopment of property damaged by a covered hurricane; a more restrictive or burdensome amendment to its comprehensive plan or land development regulations; or a more restrictive or burdensome procedure concerning the review, approval, or issuance of a site plan, development permit, or development order.
To comply with state law (Section 28) and preserve the County’s ability to enforce the moratorium, the proposed ordinance exempts properties with documented damage from Hurricane Debby or Hurricane Helene. This exemption avoids conflict with state law; however, it does not grant development approvals, create development rights, or establish that a property is suitable for a large-load customer or large-scale data center.
No applications for these facilities are currently pending in Leon County. Any proposal submitted for an exempt property during the moratorium would still require Board approval through the Planned Unit Development process and would remain subject to all applicable requirements of the County’s Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan. These include criteria governing where such facilities may be located, based on their anticipated impacts on infrastructure, utilities, and neighboring properties.
Analysis:
On July 14, 2026, the Board directed staff to prepare an ordinance establishing an 18-month moratorium on the siting of large-load customer facilities, including large-scale data centers. At its September 15, 2026 meeting, the Board conducted the first public hearing and scheduled the second and final public hearing for October 13, 2026. The moratorium temporarily pauses the acceptance, review, and approval of applicable development applications for the 18-month term. It does not impose a permanent prohibition on large-load customer facilities or large-scale data centers, and it will not interfere with any known projects as there are no approved or pending applications for large-scale data centers. This time period gives County staff the necessary time to conduct research, gather public input, evaluate planning considerations, and ultimately bring recommended amendments to the Comp Plan and Code back to the Board to protect public health, safety, and welfare. Staff anticipates returning to the Board with these findings and recommended amendments in September 2027 to seek additional Board guidance before initiating additional public hearings for formal adoption.
A key component of this evaluation is an upcoming independent study that SB 484 directs the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) to complete. This comprehensive study will evaluate economic development and tax revenue impacts; the consumption of land, water, and natural resources; energy use and associated rate impacts; and public health and safety. OPPAGA must submit the study to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by July 1, 2027.
During the June 10, 2026, City of Tallahassee Commission meeting, the City Manager responded to questions about whether the current utility grid could support large-scale data centers. He remarked that neither the Comprehensive Plan nor the City’s code permitted large-scale data centers and that the City, which provides electric service, would have to generate additional capacity in order to accommodate such a facility.
This moratorium ordinance applies only to property within unincorporated Leon County; it does not apply countywide.
The enactment of a moratorium requires two public hearings by the Board. The Board held the first of the two public hearings on September 15, 2026. This item constitutes the second and final public hearing.
Notice of Public Hearing
The public hearing has been advertised consistent with Florida Statutes (Attachment #2). A Business Impact Estimate was also provided online as required by Florida law (Attachment #3).
Options:
Recommendation:
Option #1
Attachments: