Pinellas Park imposes moratorium on data center development

At its Tuesday meeting, the Pinellas Park City Council unanimously voted to impose a one-year moratorium on data center development. This will temporarily prohibit the city from reviewing and approving applications for new or expanded projects. 

Pinellas Park senior planner Todd Biron explained at the meeting that the moratorium will allow the City to evaluate “the impacts of these facilities” and prepare “an appropriate regulatory framework to ensure that future development occurs in a manner consistent with the City’s long-term planning objectives, local infrastructure capabilities and countywide plans.” 

Currently, he added, Pinellas Park does not have review standards for data centers. During the 12-month period, City staff will examine the Land Development Code and create proposed amendments that address design, review and land capability, environmental and water resource impacts and emergency service and public safety implications, among other topics. Additionally, the City plans to work with Forward Pinellas’s Countywide Data Center Policy Working Group on the effort. 

Biron explained that Pasco, Manatee and Lake counties, among others, have adopted moratoriums on data center development this year. 

READ MORE: Pinellas Park considers pause on AI data centers

Earlier this year, real estate company American Tower Corporation submitted plans for an approximately 17,000-square-foot data processing facility at 10700 76th Court N. These documents indicated that the project would remove an existing light industrial building while leaving the property’s communications tower operational. 

Local businessman Robert Kelzer argued that development brings people into a city or town. These individuals can then become a part of the local community and support businesses and organizations. 

“When you start sending these people out, they are going to locate elsewhere,” he said. “Don’t squash initiative and growth. It’s going to happen and it’s going to come.” 

Pinellas Park resident Claire Quick warned the Council about the impacts of data center development. 

“I understand the importance of growth and progress,” she said. “But, progress should serve this community’s benefit both now and in the long term and a data center does not. My first concern is our local economy. Data centers bring a burst of construction jobs, but few permanent ones.” 

Quick also emphasized the rising cost of utilities. She said that “data centers are among the most resource intensive facilities we can build.” Additionally, Quick argued that a data center approval can lead to more facilities in the future as well. 

“When I tell people about Pinellas Park, I talk about our parks, our library, our horse farms, our schools and our community events,” she added. “I don’t want to risk my son growing up somewhere people call Data Center Park 20 years from now.” 

Attorney Tyler Hudson represented American Tower Corporation at the event. He argued that “how we regulate things matters a lot.” 

“What we’re here asking for is a continuance of this for my client to have some time to work with staff and potentially the city attorney on things that we believe could create a regulation that covers the intent of what you all want to do,” Hudson said. “The biggest issue that my client American Tower has is a feeling that the rules have sort of changed in the middle of the game.”

He explained that the company has been working through the permitting process for a considerable amount of time and has been transparent about its intentions.