Commissioners urge quick work on data-center rules during six-month moratorium

Commissioners raised the six-month moratorium on data centers and asked that the item be prioritized in the county's land-use work. One commissioner noted the moratorium creates a short timeline to produce a proposed regulatory framework that can survive county-commission review.

"The 6 month moratorium was passed through, data centers. Right? ... we've got 6 months to produce something on data centers that gets through the county commission," a commissioner said, urging the matter be treated as a priority. Staff suggested beginning with Washington County's ordinance as a model and preparing a range of options from restrictive limits to conditional approvals based on size, water and power use and other thresholds; commissioners noted the state legislature and pending definitions may affect local drafting.