CLAY COUNTY - As of now, the county's newest temporary moratorium would prevent the acceptance, review or approval of applications for any new data facilities in Clay County for one year. 

The Board of County Commissioners approved the ordinance 4-1 at its June 23 meeting, much to the approval of many citizens. 

The temporary ban essentially gives county staff more time to research and study the potential impacts of data centers ahead of time.

Data center facilities are specifically designed to host IT infrastructure and serve as the backbone of digital operations, enabling cloud computing, e-commerce, financial systems, artificial-intelligence applications and real-time services, according to Quest Technology Management. In total, Jacksonville has 14 to 16 centers, operated by major providers like Lumen, Verizon and Cologix. 

Recently, they have raised concerns for their environmental and health effects. According to Conimby, data centers used 4% of the electricity in 2023, a number that could jump to 6-12% by 2030. Also, a single large data center could need about five million gallons of water a day. Within the county specifically, the facilities could require significant and continuous electric demand, water supply, cooling infrastructure, wastewater capacity and storm water infrastructure. 

District 4 Commissioner Betsy Condon said Florida is a key destination for many tech centers because of its business-friendly atmosphere and easy-to-access water. She noted that she was particularly keen on protecting the county's water resources. District 2 Commissioner Alexandra Compere held the minority vote stressing that, with Clay County's lack of proper infrastructure to support a data center, the moratorium places more burden on county staff to plan for something that would be highly unlikely. 

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