County adopts 45-day moratorium on land OKs for data centers
The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved a 45-day moratorium on land-use approvals for new data centers in the county’s unincorporated areas. The pause will allow officials to study potential impacts on water, electricity, agriculture, noise, infrastructure and emergency services before considering permanent regulations.
The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved an Interim Urgency Ordinance imposing a 45-day moratorium on land-use approvals for new data center development in unincorporated areas. County officials said no large-scale artificial intelligence data center proposals are currently pending in those areas.
The moratorium will give county staff time to conduct a six-month study and assess whether existing zoning, General Plan policies and infrastructure standards address the facilities’ substantial electricity and water needs, cooling requirements, noise and emergency-response impacts. Supervisor Robert Rickman and Board Chair Sonny Dhaliwal said the county will seek public input and return with recommendations for possible additional land-use regulations and infrastructure standards.