Zephyrhills adopts one-year moratorium on data-center development

Zephyrhills City Council gave final approval June 22, 2026, to a one-year moratorium on data-center development, temporarily blocking building permits, rezonings and site-plan approvals for data-center facilities inside the city.

The action gives city officials time to review land-development regulations and consider whether the city’s rules adequately address data-center location, design and operation. Officials also cited the potential demands that data centers can place on electricity, water and other utility infrastructure.

What the moratorium pauses

During the moratorium, a data-center facility cannot move forward through Zephyrhills’ building-permit, rezoning or site-plan approval processes. The pause applies to data centers specifically; it does not establish a prohibition on every large industrial or technology project.

The city’s existing land-development code did not specifically address data-center location, design or operation, according to officials. The review could lead to changes in zoning, development standards or utility-related requirements before data-center applications are allowed to proceed again.

The city manager said data centers can place substantial demands on electricity, water and utility infrastructure. Those concerns are central to the city’s decision to examine its regulations before additional data-center development is considered.

Timeline and local authority

The council’s final action followed an initial reading approved June 8. The June 22 vote made the one-year moratorium the city’s final decision for the temporary pause.

The moratorium applies within the City of Zephyrhills. It does not automatically extend into unincorporated areas of Pasco County, where county planning and regulatory authority applies.

Zephyrhills’ Planning Department handles land development, zoning and growth-management responsibilities within the city. The department is based at City Hall, 5335 8th Street in Zephyrhills.

What happens next

City officials will use the one-year pause to evaluate land-development regulations and the potential effects of data centers on electricity, water and utility infrastructure. The moratorium is a temporary development-control measure, not a rejection of a named data-center proposal. No specific applicant or pending project was identified in the public reporting about the action.

When the moratorium ends, data-center applications could be evaluated under the city’s existing rules or under amendments adopted during the review. The final regulatory changes that might follow have not been identified.