Tonawanda adopts one-year pause on large data-center applications

The Town of Tonawanda has adopted a one-year moratorium on data centers with electrical demand of 20 megawatts or more, temporarily blocking the town from accepting or processing applications for those projects.

The action followed a public hearing held Aug. 3, 2026, on the proposed pause. The hearing took place at the town municipal building, 2919 Delaware Ave.

Why the town acted

The stated purpose of the moratorium is to give the town time to develop a zoning amendment regulating data-center operations. The pause applies to covered projects during the one-year period; it does not establish a permanent ban on all data centers.

Large data centers can raise land-use and infrastructure questions involving electricity, water, environmental impacts and effects on surrounding communities. Tonawanda’s moratorium is intended to allow those issues to be addressed through local zoning rules before the town processes applications for projects meeting the 20-megawatt threshold.

State context

The local action follows a broader temporary data-center moratorium framework in New York State that was discussed during the public process. Tonawanda’s law applies its own one-year pause to applications for data centers requiring at least 20 megawatts of electrical demand.

The immediate practical effect is that developers cannot submit or move covered applications through the town while the moratorium is in effect. The next known step is the development of the town’s zoning amendment for data-center operations.

The town’s action does not identify a specific project as canceled. It also does not quantify potential effects on electricity use, water demand, taxes or jobs.