Lakeland City Commission to hold first public hearing on proposed data center moratorium

LAKELAND, Fla. - Lakeland city commissioners are scheduled to hold the first public hearing Monday at 9 a.m. at City Hall on a proposed one-year moratorium on new large-scale computing facilities.

If approved, the temporary pause would give city leaders time to study how data centers could affect Lakeland's infrastructure, including power demand, water use, traffic and noise. City Attorney Palmer Davis is also expected to present research on how other communities define and regulate large-scale computing facilities.

The proposal requires two public hearings before commissioners can take final action. The second hearing is scheduled for July 20.

Lakeland proposed data center moratorium

The backstory:

The proposed moratorium follows months of public concern over Project Swan, a planned 550,000-square-foot data center near Old Tampa Highway and Wilkinson Road.

Residents raised questions about the facility's electricity demand, water consumption and potential impacts on nearby neighborhoods and wildlife.

In June, commissioners directed staff to draft the temporary moratorium while the city reviews whether additional regulations are needed. The project's developer has since paused its plans while evaluating the city's requests.

Neighborhood environmental pushback

Dig deeper:

Monday's hearing will give commissioners an opportunity to publicly debate the proposed ordinance and hear additional public comment.

One key question is how the city will define "large-scale computing facilities," since that definition will determine which future developments would be affected by the moratorium.

Final ordinance voting

What's next:

Commissioners are not expected to make a final decision today. Final consideration of the ordinance is expected during the second public hearing on July 20.

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