Zephyrhills Hits Pause on Data Centers as Final Vote Looms June 22

Zephyrhills is moving to slow down before the data-center boom reaches its doorstep. On Monday night, the City Council unanimously approved the first reading of a one-year moratorium that would pause building permits, rezonings, site plans and related approvals for data centers inside city limits, according to Spectrum Bay News 9. A second and final reading is scheduled for June 22.

For residents, the message is essentially: the city wants to set the rules before anyone shows up to play. City Manager Billy Poe told the council that Zephyrhills has not been approached about hosting a data center — the pause is a proactive step inspired by what officials have watched unfold elsewhere in Florida, where some communities are weighing actual proposals and others are racing to enact their own moratoriums.

Why the city wants a timeout

The heart of the issue is regulation — or the lack of it. Poe read an agenda memo during the meeting noting that data centers draw heavily on electricity, water and utility infrastructure, and that the city's current land development code simply doesn't address them: not where they can be located, not how they should be designed, and not how they should operate, per Bay News 9's reporting.

Poe framed the pause as a way to avoid a rushed decision — time to learn the facts, weigh whether the impacts are as significant as critics warn, and, if they are, put guardrails in place before any application lands.

Water and power are the flashpoints

Data-center development has surged alongside artificial intelligence, and the facilities have drawn criticism nationwide for the volume of water and electricity they consume to keep banks of servers cool. WMNF reported that, citing Consumer Reports, a single data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water per day — a striking figure in a state that has been gripped by severe drought.

City Planning Director Rodney Corriveau told WMNF that the moratorium is also about giving residents a voice. He noted that in some communities where data centers were built, residents felt blindsided and had little chance to weigh in — and that the pause builds room for public input into the planning process, which he called essential.

Zephyrhills isn't alone — this is a regional wave

The city's move is part of a fast-spreading pattern across Florida and beyond. Just days after Zephyrhills acted, the Pasco County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend a 12-month moratorium of its own for unincorporated parts of the county. County Planning Director David Engel told board members that officials want to clearly define what counts as a large data center before allowing one to be built, and that there are currently no active applications in the county, according to WUSF.

WUSF reported that Pasco joins Hernando County, Citrus County, Zephyrhills and several other Florida counties in enacting or advancing a moratorium. Nationally, the trend is even broader — reporting from WPLN in Tennessee listed Zephyrhills alongside communities in Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Alabama that passed pauses around the same week.

What happens next

The ordinance still needs its second reading on June 22 to take effect. If the council holds its course, Zephyrhills will have roughly a year to research the impacts, define what qualifies as a data center, and craft zoning and operational standards — all before any developer can submit plans. Expect water use, electricity demand, noise and community input to dominate the conversation as the city builds out those rules.

Residents who want a say will likely have their best opportunity as the city works through its regulations in the coming months. The June 22 meeting is the next formal checkpoint.

For more local coverage, visit the Zephyrhills Community Website and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X for updates as the June 22 vote approaches. Have a take on data centers coming to town? Join the conversation in our Community Forum, and read more government & politics and business & development stories shaping the future of our city.