Humboldt County Supervisors Propose Moratorium on Data Centers

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors has begun the process of drafting policy to prohibit certain types of developments, including a one-year moratorium on data centers. This decision, made at a recent meeting, was prompted by an increase in public concern regarding these controversial establishments, despite there being no pending applications for such projects in the county.

Planning and Building Director John Ford stated that the proposal originated from planning staff, responding to public comments, rather than from a specific supervisor's request. Public commenters largely supported the move, citing concerns about environmental impacts like high water and power consumption from data centers. Supervisor Bushnell expressed skepticism, questioning the necessity of a ban given current county processes and the lack of precedent for a warehouse, such as a proposed Amazon facility in McKinleyville, converting into a data center or detention center. However, Supervisor Wilson countered that concerns about warehouses being converted were not unfounded, pointing to a nationwide expansion of data centers.

While the Board unanimously supported drafting a policy for a one-year data center moratorium to allow for further study, they also directed staff to draft permanent bans on private detention facilities and onshore support facilities for offshore oil and deep sea mining. The discussion on the offshore drilling support facilities was the most contentious, with some supervisors, like Rex Bohn and Bushnell, expressing concerns about limiting economic viability. The specific policies will be presented to the Board for further consideration at a future meeting.