St. Johns County commissioners approve one-year data center moratorium, local news outlets report

St. Johns County commissioners voted unanimously Nov. 3 for a one-year moratorium on data centers, Jacksonville Today and Action News Jax reported.¹² The vote itself rests on those reports. The county's agenda for that meeting lists the ordinance for enactment, but SignalData could not open adopted text or minutes.³ Jacksonville Today reported an expiration date of Oct. 31, 2027.¹ Commissioner Krista Joseph made the motion, and county officials said no data center applications are active, Action News Jax reported.²

Differing start dates

The Nov. 3 agenda summary lists Nov. 15.³ Action News Jax reported Nov. 13.² Jacksonville Today reported that it took effect immediately.¹ The Oct. 6 draft set Nov. 1 as its effective date, while its moratorium section opened with Oct. 1.⁴

What the draft ordinance says

The only ordinance text SignalData opened is the draft in the Oct. 6 agenda packet, its number left blank. It would stop the county from accepting, reviewing or approving discretionary approvals, including rezonings and site plans, for two classes of projects.⁴

A medium-scale project is described as generally 2,000 to 5,000 servers with 5 to 49 megawatts of power capacity. A large-scale project is one that meets the definition in Section 373.203, Florida Statutes, along with phased or campus-style projects.⁴ Action News Jax described the adopted measure as covering medium- and large-scale data centers.²

The draft exempts complete applications found sufficient before Nov. 1, 2026, existing lawful data centers, routine maintenance and smaller facilities. It would expire on the earliest of Oct. 31, 2027, the adoption of permanent rules or repeal.⁴

Staff would study land use, power, water and noise, among other topics. The draft says county codes have no data center standards, and it cites Senate Bill 484 and a state study due by July 1, 2027.⁴

How it reached a vote

At the June 16 meeting, Commissioner Ann Taylor moved to enact a one-year moratorium, seconded by Joseph, then withdrew the motion after discussion. The board gave consensus for the county attorney's office to prepare a package for a public hearing, the minutes show.⁵

County records say the board directed the ordinance Sept. 1 and first heard it Oct. 6.⁴³ The memo set an Oct. 20 hearing, but that meeting's minutes do not mention a moratorium.⁶ It appeared as item 13 on Nov. 3.³

Commissioner Christian Whitehurst voted yes and said that “if people want less demand for data centers, I would simply suggest that you use less data,” Action News Jax reported.²

Other counties

Jacksonville Today called St. Johns the third Northeast Florida county with a moratorium, after Nassau and Clay.¹ Nassau County's website says its board approved Ordinance 2026-044 on June 8, a pause of up to 12 months.⁷ Action News Jax reported June 24 that Clay commissioners approved a one-year moratorium, at a meeting on proposed projects in unincorporated areas.⁸

The Palm Coast Observer reported Aug. 3 that Flagler commissioners unanimously approved a one-year moratorium in unincorporated Flagler.⁹ WFTV reported that Lake commissioners on Oct. 27 extended their moratorium by six months, through June 2027.¹⁰ Volusia's council adopted a ban on large data centers in unincorporated areas on Oct. 20, SignalData reported.

What the records do not show

• No adopted ordinance, ordinance number or Nov. 3 minutes were opened; the vote and motion are as the two outlets reported them.
• The agenda item's backup file could not be opened, so SignalData cannot say whether the draft changed before adoption.
• No record opened explains the move from Oct. 20 to Nov. 3 or settles the start date.
• The draft does not say “unincorporated” or “countywide.” Action News Jax described the moratorium as countywide; no record opened says whether it reaches the county's cities.
• Nassau's page links a file named first reading and gives no vote count. No Clay, Flagler or Lake ordinance was opened.