Osceola County sets June 9 hearing to add data‑center rules to zoning code

The Osceola County Board of Supervisors accepted a planning commission report and set a public hearing for June 9 on proposed amendments to the county zoning code that would define and regulate data centers.

The county’s zoning administrator (S9) told the board the code is currently “pretty much silent” on data centers and that a clear definition would avoid ad hoc interpretation. He described typical impacts: large water and electricity demand, noise from cooling equipment and potential localized heat effects, and recommended adding “cloud computing” to the definition. “On average, these massive mega centers … are basically equivalent to about 25,000 homes, you know, in terms of their water usage,” S9 said, stressing the potential scale relative to a county with roughly 6,000 residents.

Why it matters: staff said a data center could require substantial utility upgrades that would benefit construction firms and generate property tax revenue if sited in a permanent building, but it could also shift ongoing maintenance costs to the utility and ratepayers. The planning commission recommended limiting data centers to heavy or general industrial zones and requiring reporting on water use, electrical demand, decibel limits and any heat‑island effects.

Board members asked about existing facilities and enforcement. S9 said the county has seen small, utility‑adjacent “pod” installations and one small building at a substation; he recommended requiring fixed, enclosed buildings in the ordinance so installations qualify as real property for assessment. Members discussed the option of a moratorium during code drafting; S9 and other staff said a moratorium was unnecessary because, as written, the proposed updates would create a zoning category with little or no immediately available land for such uses.

A motion to accept the planning commission report with the addition of “cloud computing” to the definition and to set the ordinance public hearing for June 9 was moved and carried by the board. The public hearing will allow formal testimony and give the board an opportunity to incorporate performance requirements into the final ordinance.

What’s next: the county will publish the ordinance language and hold the public hearing on June 9 as scheduled. If an application for a data center were to appear later, it would require rezoning to an industrial category and further public hearings.