Manatee County Freezes Data Center Applications for a Year as Commissioners Float a Permanent Ban

Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to impose a 12-month moratorium on new data center applications in unincorporated Manatee, freezing large-scale AI and computing projects while the county decides what rules, if any, should govern them. Several commissioners made clear the pause may be a step toward keeping the facilities out of Manatee entirely.

The Oct. 8 vote, taken at the second and final public hearing on the ordinance, makes Manatee the latest Florida local government to hit pause on data centers as utilities, state regulators and residents wrestle with the electricity and water demands of facilities built to train and run artificial intelligence. It came two days later than planned, after the commission failed to reach a quorum on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

What the moratorium covers

The ordinance blocks new applications and development orders tied to data centers and other large-load facilities in unincorporated Manatee County. According to the Bradenton Times, the county will stop accepting applications for building permits, site plans, development orders, development agreements, special permit uses, rezonings and comprehensive plan amendments connected to such projects. A large-scale data center is generally defined as a site with an anticipated monthly peak electrical load of at least 50 megawatts.

The pause lasts 12 months or until the board repeals it, whichever comes first, and commissioners can extend it if staff needs more time. It does not set a deadline for permanent rules. During the moratorium, staff will study possible changes to the comprehensive plan and land development code that could address water and power use, noise, environmental impacts, design standards, buffers and where the facilities could locate.

No data center applications are pending in Manatee, according to county planning staff. One earlier development proposal had listed a data center among its potential uses before the applicant withdrew that request.

Commissioners eye something stronger

Commissioners framed the vote as more than a planning exercise. Commissioner Jason Bearden, who did not seek reelection to his at-large seat, questioned whether the county should allow large data centers at all, pointing to water supply concerns.

"I understand we need them. I'm in AI, so I get it," Bearden said. "But I just don't think that the state of Florida or even Manatee County has the capacity, especially with the water situation that we have right now, for data centers."

Commissioner Bob McCann went further, saying he favors a permanent ban. "Are the data centers necessary? Yes. Are they necessary here? No," McCann said, adding that he would support keeping them out for good.

Board Chair Tal Siddique said the moratorium should not be read as preparation for eventually welcoming the industry. "It's not a precursor to approving data centers," Siddique said. "It is a good measure to ban any applications from coming through today to scare them off now."

Commissioner George Kruse urged caution about an outright ban, warning that rules written too broadly could sweep in manufacturers, cryptocurrency mining operations and other high-power users. He said the moratorium gives the county essentially the same immediate protection while it works out a permanent policy, and argued against rushing as the technology and the law continue to evolve.

How the county got here

The vote capped a process that began this summer. On July 28, commissioners voted 6-0 to direct staff to draft a temporary moratorium after Siddique, McCann and Commissioner Amanda Ballard each brought their own proposals. Ballard said at the time that the goal was "to figure out where the gaps are in our regulations with regards to data centers," WUSF reported.

Residents who spoke in July tied the issue to water. One East Manatee resident told commissioners he hoped 12 months would be enough, while another warned that West Manatee's water resources were already strained, at a time when the U.S. Drought Monitor showed most of West Manatee under extreme drought.

The Manatee County Planning Commission recommended approval 6-0 on Sept. 17. The County Commission held its first public hearing Sept. 22 without taking action, and the second hearing was pushed from Oct. 6 to Oct. 8 after the quorum failure.

A regional wave of pauses

Manatee joins a growing list of Florida local governments that have paused data center development this year. Its neighbors Sarasota County and North Port have both acted, with North Port approving an 18-month moratorium. In the Tampa Bay area, Pasco County adopted a one-year pause in June, followed by Zephyrhills and Lakeland, and Hillsborough County commissioners voted in August to begin drafting their own ordinance. Elsewhere, Nassau, Levy and Lake counties have taken similar steps.

The local moratoriums are a response to a surge of interest in Florida sites. The Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association has found that the largest facilities can use up to 5 million gallons of water a day, comparable to a town of 30,000 to 50,000 people. In southern Polk County, a developer is planning a $2.6 billion data center campus.

What state law allows

The Legislature addressed data centers this spring in Senate Bill 484, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May. According to the Senate's bill summary, the law preserves local governments' authority over comprehensive planning and land development regulation for large-load customers, a provision that took effect immediately. It also requires utilities to file tariffs ensuring large data centers cover their own cost of service so other ratepayers do not bear the risk, bars utilities from serving facilities controlled by foreign countries of concern, and sets separate water use permitting requirements for large-scale data centers. Utilities were required to file those large-load tariffs with the Public Service Commission by Oct. 1.

Whether a county could permanently ban the facilities, as McCann and Bearden suggested, is a different question from a temporary moratorium, and Kruse's warnings about overly broad rules suggest the board will have to weigh legal risk as it writes permanent policy.

Data centers have also surfaced in the governor's race. Republican nominee Byron Donalds has opposed statewide data center moratoriums, WUSF reported, and has received six-figure contributions from data center backers.

A turbulent week on the dais

The data center vote came during a contentious stretch for the commission. The same Oct. 8 meeting included a hearing Bearden requested on the performance and continued employment of County Administrator Charlie Bishop. Bishop was absent, out sick according to County Attorney Pamela D'Agostino, and nearly an hour of questioning ended without a motion when Siddique recessed the meeting. Bearden said he would bring the matter back Oct. 20.

What's next

With the moratorium in place, county planning staff will begin drafting permanent regulations, which would go back through the Planning Commission and the County Commission in public hearings before taking effect. Because Bearden's at-large seat will change hands after the Nov. 3 election, a reshaped commission may be the one to decide whether Manatee writes rules for data centers or tries to keep them out. The pause can be extended if that work is not finished within 12 months.