Lake County explores temporary moratorium and tailored rules for large data centers as state law tightens

County staff brought forward information and a draft approach for a temporary pause and land‑development ordinance for data centers, following the board's prior request for more information.

Kathleen Dial told commissioners the board had asked staff to return with information and an ordinance; staff proposed using a Citrus County model as a starting point and indicated the draft ordinance would go to the Planning & Zoning Board on Aug. 5. Dial summarized Senate Bill 484 (2026), which requires utilities to file large‑load tariffs for customers defined in statute as having monthly peak loads of 50 megawatts or more, mandates reclaimed‑water use where feasible for large scale facilities, and directs a state impact study on siting and impacts due July 1, 2027.

Technical presenters warned of potentially unprecedented power and cooling needs for next‑generation AI facilities. Dr. Issa Batarse of UCF said AI training loads can be orders of magnitude greater than prior cloud computing and stressed concerns about grid capacity, transformer supply and heat removal. "If a company comes in, they need 100 megawatt — can we provide 100 megawatt to that site?" he asked. Panelists from Duke Energy and utilities explained 50 MW is the statutory threshold for a 'large load' in Florida and said utilities have processes for sub‑50 MW requests; the St. Johns River Water Management District representative said the district had not received consumptive‑use permit applications for facilities above the SB‑484 threshold in the region.

Commissioners discussed a moratorium timing (commonly one year) and exemptions drafted for governmental, educational, healthcare and internal enterprise IT uses. The county attorney noted the board had directed staff to move forward with a draft that is intentionally broad and can be narrowed; staff will circulate the draft, pursue regional model code work with the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council in September, and return with the ordinance and planning‑board hearing schedule. Commissioners asked staff for site visits and additional technical briefings as part of deliberations.