Commissioners weigh length of data-center moratorium as staff recommends February 25 extension

Scott, the county planning director, presented the staff recommendation to extend the interim control on data-center zoning, saying: "The recommendation that's in the staff report is to extend it to February 25." He reviewed the moratorium's history (initial control Jan. 14, extensions in March and May) and laid out a calendar of Advanced Plans meetings, MAPC review and public-notice deadlines to allow for technical work and public comment.

Commissioners pressed for an accelerated timetable. One commissioner framed the concern about extending the moratorium to six months as excessive and said, "I would rather bring it back to 120," arguing the BOCC should avoid an overly long pause while work proceeds. Commissioners discussed holding joint or parallel sessions with Advanced Plans and convening stakeholder redlining sessions so the BOCC could review drafts earlier. Staff cautioned that MAPC scheduling could affect any accelerated timeline, and no formal adoption of a new end date appears in the transcript; commissioners signaled a leaning toward a December 16 target while acknowledging scheduling contingencies.