Orange County is considering taking action on data centers, as a Commissioner pushes for a temporary moratorium on the AI infrastructure.
District 5 Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad pushed for a discussion on a temporary moratorium on AI data center applications in our local Central Florida community. Save Orange County, a neighborhood grassroots organization, also launched a petition to ask the Mayor and County Commissioners to support the proposed moratorium on data centers.
“As demand for data center infrastructure increases across Florida and the nation, Orange County sits in a regulatory gray area in our capacity to manage and regulate its uses,” Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad posted. “While data centers are implicitly regulated under industrial uses, the county lacks specific language that would allow for direct regulation of AI data centers.”
The Commissioner said a moratorium would allow Orange County staff to:
- Proactively study the impacts these intensive utility-scale operations have on community welfare and Orange County’s ability to efficiently manage its water and energy supplies.
- Determine whether hyperscale and AI data centers can be safely accommodated within Orange County’s boundaries.
- Determine whether additional policies, development standards, utility requirements, environmental protections, or other such tools must be codified to govern them.
This discussion item was placed on the agenda for the September 15th Board of County Commission meeting, beginning the conversation locally. Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad said she is requesting the AI data center moratorium on behalf of residents who “deserve to know the potential impacts on our water, natural resources, wildlife, heat, noise, energy use, and electricity costs before the County allows this type of development.”
It is an interesting and important discussion to have locally. The ongoing discussion for communities to adopt data centers is that they generate needed property tax revenues and economic development to fund local schools, roads, and public services, while also being an anchor for digital infrastructure. Many market Orlando and Orange County as a community that focused on innovation and technology, and refusing data centers could risk the local community becoming economically stagnant and financially disadvantaged compared to other Florida cities, as well as falling behind in the national artificial intelligence and tech infrastructure race.
State Representative Anna Eskamani, who is running for Orlando Mayor in 2027, supports the effort to stop data centers. “We’re urging the Orange County Commission to adopt a moratorium on new data center applications at their meeting this Tuesday, September 15th,” Anna Eskamani stated on the matter. “Thank you Commissioner Dr. Kelly Martinez Semrad for introducing this proposal.”
Democratic Orlando State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith also agrees, and wrote Mayor Jerry Demings and the Orange County Commissioners to “strongly encourage” them to adopt a temporary moratorium on the construction of data centers. “These facilities put enormous strain on local water and energy resources and officials need this pause to adequately assess potential impacts on our community,” State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith posted. State Representative Rita Harris, also a Democrat, wrote a letter supporting a temporary moratorium, saying “we need time to fully understand their potential impacts on our water, energy grid, environment, and surrounding communities.” She added it was not about stopping innovation though. “It’s about making sure we have the right safeguards in place before moving forward,” State Rep. Rita Harris posted.
Save Orange County’s petition states: ” The rapid growth of AI is driving a major expansion of data centers, which will place significant demands on water, electricity, land, and infrastructure while creating extreme noise and other detrimental impacts on surrounding communities.” The group is asking Commissioners to support the moratorium to help ensure that the county is protecting residents, rural communities, and natural resources. Check out their full petition to Orange County Commissioners online.
