EDGEWATER, Fla. – Edgewater city leaders are set to decide Monday whether residents should have the final say on a proposed permanent ban on data centers within city limits.
If commissioners approve the proposal, the measure will appear on the November ballot, allowing voters to decide whether to permanently prohibit the construction, expansion, operation or approval of new data centers in Edgewater.
Unlike a temporary moratorium, the proposal would establish a lasting prohibition on data centers and would also prevent the city from adopting future policies that would allow them.
The proposal comes as data centers continue to expand across the country to support growing demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies, including platforms such as ChatGPT.
At a recent commission meeting, several residents voiced concerns about the potential impact large-scale data centers could have on the community.
“I haven’t seen too much positives other than the fact that it’s just ChatGPT, which I’m in college, I use,” said Edgewater resident Jack Gwen. “That’s the only positive, but because of all the negatives and how much resources used for it, I would say permanently banned because I don’t want to see any other purpose in that.”
Others pointed to concerns over infrastructure and quality of life.
“We don’t have the water resource. Our water is bad enough,” resident Robert DeVoe told commissioners. “We don’t have the grid for it. If you want to know what they sound like, go on top of Publix and then put it in your living room. It’s loud as crap.”
The local debate comes as Florida’s new data center law, SB 484, takes effect. The legislation, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, prevents utilities from passing the cost of power grid upgrades for data centers onto residential customers, gives local governments authority to reject proposed projects, and requires strict water-use permitting.
Critics of data centers argue the facilities can place significant demands on electricity and water resources while generating noise from cooling systems and backup equipment.
“I’m living in Edgewater myself,” resident Tyler Dijacklin said. “I definitely would be concerned about the prices of things going up if a data center showed up in the area.”
Edgewater is not alone in examining restrictions on data centers. Other Central Florida communities, including Lake and Seminole counties, have also considered or implemented restrictions and temporary moratoriums as officials weigh the industry’s potential economic benefits against concerns over infrastructure, utilities and neighborhood impacts.
The Edgewater City Commission is scheduled to meet Monday at 6 p.m. at City Hall. If commissioners approve placing the measure on the ballot, voters will decide in November whether to make the proposed data center ban permanent.