The council unanimously approved the moratorium on April 21, 2026. The policy halts the acceptance and processing of new applications, rezoning requests and permits tied to the construction or expansion of data centers within Oklahoma City city limits.

A May 19 amendment added exemptions for facilities at the Expand Energy campus and near the OKC Outlet Mall. The amendment also allows certain projects to proceed if they use less than 75 megawatts.

What the moratorium does

The moratorium is scheduled to remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2026, unless the city approves zoning amendments before that date. That means the pause is temporary rather than a permanent prohibition on data-center development.

The original action included exemptions for two pending rezoning cases. The May amendment created two additional exemptions, bringing the number of specifically described exempted projects or cases to four.

The available information does not identify the names, ownership or full capacity of all four exempted facilities. The exemption also does not establish that every exempted project has been approved for construction beyond the specific permission to proceed described in the amendment.

Why the city is reviewing its rules

City officials cited energy use, water demand and land use as reasons for reviewing Oklahoma City’s zoning rules for data centers. The review comes as the city considers how these facilities should be handled under a more permanent zoning framework.

Data centers can involve large buildings and significant utility needs, but the approved information does not provide project-level figures for water consumption, electricity use, jobs, investment or other local effects. It therefore cannot establish whether the moratorium or its exemptions will produce specific savings or costs for Oklahoma City.

The immediate local consequence is a split development policy: most new data-center applications, rezoning requests and permits remain paused, while the projects covered by the original and amended exemptions are treated differently during the review.

What happens next

The city’s zoning review is expected to determine whether Oklahoma City adopts amendments before the moratorium’s Dec. 31, 2026, expiration date. If zoning amendments are approved earlier, the city could end the moratorium before that deadline.

Until then, the moratorium remains the default rule for new data-center activity inside the city. The Expand Energy campus project, the facility near the OKC Outlet Mall and the two original pending rezoning cases are exceptions described in the approved actions.

The final zoning framework remains undecided. The available sources also do not say whether the moratorium will end early, what requirements a permanent framework may include, or the full capacity and ownership of the exempted facilities.