Cave City council enacts 12-month moratorium on data centers
The Cave City council has enacted a 12-month moratorium on data center applications following resident concerns about strain on the power grid and water resources. The 4-1 vote came after a mayor's proposal that would have opened the city to data center development. Council members plan to create a planning commission to seek permanent protections against data centers in Cave City and eventually Barren County.
The Cave City council in Kentucky has unanimously voted to enact a 12-month moratorium on data center applications after significant opposition from residents. Residents voiced concerns about potential strain on the city's power grid, increased utility costs, and excessive water consumption by data centers.
The vote, which passed 4-1, came as a response to Mayor Dwayne Hatcher's previous attempts to change language that would have made Cave City more amenable to data center development. Council members Leticia Cline, Clifton Parsley, Andrew Bagshaw, and Ronald Coffey voted in favor of the moratorium, with Councilman Denny Doyle casting the lone dissenting vote, citing studies suggesting potential benefits of data centers.
While the moratorium temporarily blocks new data center projects, council members emphasized that this is merely the first step in a broader effort. Their next goal is to establish a planning commission, which they hope will empower both Cave City and Barren County to permanently prevent data centers from establishing a presence in the area. According to Mayor Hatcher, there are no known data center development plans currently in the pipeline for Cave City.