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Escambia Commissioners Stand Firm On Existing Data Center Ban, Take No Action On Moratorium
September 11, 2026
Thursday night, the Escambia County Commission took no action on setting public hearings in order to establish a data center moratorium, saying data centers are already absolutely banned in Escambia County.
“Your LDC (Land Development Code) currently does not allow them, and you have imposed an ordinance previously that indicates that they are not appropriate in Escambia County, and they are banned,” County Attorney Alison Rogers said. “You don’t need to do anything. You can take no action.”
“I can’t believe we keep revisiting this subject,” Commissioner Steve Stroberger said.
“It shouldn’t even be on the damn agenda,” Commissioner Lumon May interjected, later adding, “It is dead. It is dead. We can’t do it. It’s banned in Escambia County…It’s banned, it’s dead, it’s not allowed.”
“My position is very clear,” May continued. “It was banned yesterday, banned today, banned tomorrow as far as I am concerned.”
“Just to be clear, none of us want data centers,” Stroberger said.
In August, the commission approved an ordinance banning large-scale data centers in the unincorporated areas of Escambia County outside the City of Pensacola and the Town of Century.
The actions came on the heels of a resolution approved in late July that officially memorialized the county’s position that data center facilities are not permitted under the County’s Land Development Code and are not an appropriate form of development within the unincorporated area of Escambia County.
Comments
4 Responses to “Escambia Commissioners Stand Firm On Existing Data Center Ban, Take No Action On Moratorium”
Take a drive through Escambia County and actually look around. Look at the rundown commercial areas, aging infrastructure, vacant properties, and lack of serious economic development.
Then ask yourself: Are we really in a position to turn away major private investment and economic opportunity?
Data centers aren’t the answer to everything, and environmental concerns absolutely deserve to be taken seriously. Water usage, energy consumption, noise, land use, and impacts on surrounding communities should all be addressed with tough, enforceable standards.
But there’s a huge difference between responsible regulation and simply saying NO.
We should be demanding that developers meet high environmental and community standards while still welcoming investment, jobs, tax revenue, and infrastructure improvements.
Escambia County doesn’t need politicians deciding what we can’t have. We need leaders willing to figure out how we can grow responsibly.
We have tremendous potential. It’s time to stop thinking small and start building for the next 20–30 years.
Could be built directly next to Plant Crist, the wastewater plant in Cantonment, near the paper mill, or the old Escambia Treating brownfield. All these sites are already noisy and undesirable for residential dwelling zoning.
I think it is totally unacceptable to place these in rural areas because the quality of life is impeded. But to just outright place a ban on them with no consideration for other existing industries that have been allowed to build and truly impact communities and the environment in such detrimental ways (think aquifer withdrawals and air quality), I don’t see what the big deal is. (There are blighted commercial zones that truly need to be “banned”, too, with redevelopment.)
And, don’t forget how noisy large highways are. Data centers are far quieter than I-10 will ever be, with or without sound walls. Build them at the I-10 and Hwy 29 interchange.
I am all for A.I. doesn’t mean I want a data center in my backyard. They have the entire rest of the US to build them. If you want a data center in your backyard then move to a place that allows them and have fun. I love sharks too, doesn’t mean I want to swim in a pool with one.
Big mistake, and a very backward attitude.