Overview
- A growing wave of local actions is underway, with Edgewater adopting a permanent ban and cities including San Francisco, Gilroy, Buffalo, Poway and Loudoun County proposing temporary pauses or code changes to halt new AI or hyperscale data centers.
- Philadelphia activists held rallies pressing City Council for a moratorium and city planning staff have identified only two sites that could host industrial‑scale data centers, raising calls for new local rules before any proposals proceed.
- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro issued an executive order that stops fast‑tracked approvals and requires developers to cover the costs of new energy infrastructure needed for large data centers, creating a state‑level constraint that still relies on local consent.
- Northern Virginia’s Loudoun County is weighing a pause and an end to by‑right grandfathering so previously filed applications would need public hearings and special exceptions, a move meant to increase local oversight.
- State legislative efforts such as proposed moratorium bills in Michigan have been introduced while local referendums and council votes spread, leaving a patchwork of municipal measures that could slow projects, raise developer costs and shift siting fights to city halls.