Pasco County moves forward with data center moratorium
Pasco County Planning Commission has moved forward with a temporary, yearlong moratorium on data center applications in unincorporated areas. The decision followed extensive public comment focusing on environmental concerns regarding water use and carbon emissions. The moratorium still requires approval from the Board of County Commissioners.
The Pasco County Planning Commission has advanced a temporary, yearlong moratorium on new data center applications within unincorporated Pasco County. This decision followed an extensive public comment period lasting over three hours, during which many residents voiced strong opposition and environmental concerns. Speakers like Skarda highlighted the region's porous limestone geology and an aquifer already strained by population growth, while Marilyn Holloren, president of the Pasco chapter of the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, warned of climate change impacts and data centers' significant carbon emissions.
The proposed moratorium, which mirrors a similar action recently taken by the nearby City of Zephyrhills, still requires final approval from the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners. An analysis by Axios identified Pasco County as one of Florida's fastest-growing areas. Critics cited a report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, which characterizes data centers as "resource ravenous," with even mid-sized facilities consuming as much water as a small town, intensifying concerns over the environmental footprint of such developments.