Venice City Council adopts 12-month moratorium on large-scale data center applications

The ordinance halts the permitting and review process for any facility with a monthly peak electrical load of 50 megawatts or more while city staff study local impacts on water supply, electrical capacity, and the environment.

• •The Venice City Council adopted a 12-month moratorium on development applications and permits for large-scale data centers on Oct. 27.
• •The pause immediately halts the city's acceptance, review, processing, and approval of applications connected to construction, expansion, or operation of covered facilities.
• •A large-scale data center is defined under the ordinance as a single location with an anticipated monthly peak electrical load of 50 megawatts or more.
• •The paused application types include comprehensive plan amendments, rezonings, land development regulation changes, conditional uses, design alternatives, site and development plans, and building permits.
• •City staff will use the moratorium period to review potential impacts on water supply, wastewater treatment, electrical capacity, and land-use compatibility.
• •The review will also consider environmental concerns such as potential effects on wetlands, coastal ecosystems, noise, lighting, and nearby land uses.
• •The moratorium will remain in effect for 12 months unless the city adopts related changes to its comprehensive plan, land development regulations, or code sooner.
• •The city council may extend the moratorium through another ordinance following public hearings.
• •A city business impact estimate states there are no large-load-customer businesses currently in Venice and none that have indicated plans to enter the city.