Manatee County has joined a growing number of Florida municipalities in temporarily halting the development of data centers and any other facilities which require a high amount of electricity.
Commissioners unanimously approved a one-year moratorium Thursday, which gives Manatee staff time to evaluate how these facilities should be addressed in its Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code, along with other regulations, for any future data center proposals.
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Although the board was solely focusing on a moratorium, Commissioner Jason Bearden said the county isn't a right fit for artificial intelligence facilities, which typically require massive amounts of electricity and water.
"I just think Manatee County is very sensitive on their water, and I don't know if this is the best place,” Bearden said.
“I know Florida residents say they definitely don't want them, and we're seeing a lot of pushback from residents all over the state. So, what do we do to make sure that that is put in our plan to where we just don't allow any type of data centers in Manatee County from this day forward?”
Commission Chair Tal Siddique said there's not enough information yet to decide if data centers should be allowed in Manatee.
"I think [the moratorium] gives our staff more time to look at what are some good ... ways that we can present back to the board options for approval or denial,” Siddique said.
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Staff will consider things like the consumption of electricity and water, noise abatement, environmental impacts, and defining data center uses.
County resident Mark Stanick told commissioners that while they settle on a definition that they should consider the purpose and workload of different types of data centers.
“Data centers that are made for general purpose or colocation purposes are designed differently and have different kinds of requirements and use less electricity,” Stanick said.
“Those that have a workload of AI typically have a very, very high compute rate and not too much data retrieval rate and therefore generates more energy, and therefore has a greater strain on our resources."
Another resident, Elizabeth Arnold, said she’s concerned about air pollution from facility generators. She'd like the county to hold workshops.
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"I think the public wants to have input, and it's really important because this is where they live. This is the place they call home," she said.
The moratorium follows a new state law that took effect July 1 that recognizes data centers require unique planning considerations.
Other Florida municipalities which have enacted such moratoriums include Sarasota, Pasco, Citrus, Hernando, DeSoto, Palm Beach, Marion, Levy and Santa Rosa counties, as well as the cities of Pinellas Park, Lakeland and North Port.
Others, including Pinellas and Escambia counties, outright prohibit such facilities.
