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Edmond City Council to Weigh Extending Data Center Moratorium Monday
The Edmond City Council meets Monday evening to consider extending a six-month pause on data centers while officials finalize a permanent ordinance. Mayor Mark Nash says the moratorium is the city's only tool to prevent unregulated development.
EDMOND, Okla. â The Edmond City Council will meet Monday evening to consider extending a moratorium on data centers, a move city leaders say is necessary to buy time while they draft permanent rules for the power-hungry facilities.
The council approved a six-month pause over the summer. That moratorium is set to expire, and Mayor Mark Nash said the city is still working on a data center ordinance that is not yet finalized.
"We want to make sure we have good ordinances in place, and the only way to do that is to keep the moratorium until we're ready to say, 'OK, let's move forward,'" Nash said. "You can't say no if you don't have an ordinance in place."
Nash said Edmond cannot legally block a data center from locating in the city without an ordinance on the books. The pause, he said, gives city leaders time to plan.
The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Data centers have become a contentious issue across the Oklahoma City metro and beyond, with residents in Oklahoma City, Piedmont, Enid, Yukon and other communities raising concerns about zoning, water and electricity use, and local control. In Yukon, residents have pushed back on Oklahoma City's rezoning decisions for data center projects, and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt has publicly explained why his city moved forward with rezoning despite a moratorium.
For Edmond, the debate centers on how much authority the city has to shape or reject projects before they arrive. Without a formal ordinance, Nash said, the city's hands are tied.
The council's decision Monday will determine whether the pause continues while that ordinance is completed.