Local Government

Packed Chamber Pushes Commissioners Toward Data Center Ban

More than 30 residents—many with “People Demand A Ban” and “No Data Centes” signs—filled the Escambia County Commission chambers Wednesday demanding a permanent ban on data centers. They left with a clear path toward getting one.

The June 17 Board of County Commissioners meeting opened with an unusually full public forum. Commissioner Lumon May had placed the data center question on the agenda, and residents showed up to make clear where they stood: no data centers in Escambia County, period.

• Speaker after speaker cited concerns about water consumption, electricity demand, noise and light pollution, environmental contamination, and the minimal number of permanent jobs data centers typically provide. By the time the public comments wrapped up, not a single commissioner expressed support for bringing a data center to the county, and a legal pathway toward a ban was taking shape.

The Crowd Makes Its Case

Christy Rosen, a District 5 resident and co-founder of local Indivisible chapter If Not Us, led off the public forum with a pointed challenge to the board. She questioned how much water and electricity a facility would consume, what tax incentives were under discussion, how many permanent local jobs would actually be created, and what environmental studies had been completed—none of which, she said, had been answered, apparently because of a nondisclosure agreement.

“Escambia County should focus on attracting businesses that create substantial local employment, strengthen our economy, and improve quality of life without placing excessive demands on our resources.”
—Christy Rosen

Misha Moyer Phillips, recently elected without opposition to the Escambia Soil and Water Conservation District, went further. She told the board that the county’s Land Development Code does not define a data center and does not list it as a permitted or conditional use in any zoning district. She invoked a seven-generations principle from the Haudenosaunee First Nations people: decisions affecting a community should consider the impact on descendants far into the future.

Brandy Johnson, who wrote a Change.org petition that had gathered 5,396 signatures, told the board that seven out of 10 people nationally oppose data centers in their communities. She cited reports of groundwater contamination in Georgia and raised concerns about health impacts on residents living near such facilities. She called on the commission to vote on a ban on the spot.

• “If all of you are opposed to a data center,” Johnson told the board, “then stand with your community and ban it right now. Protect your citizens.”

May Moves to Put a Ban on the Agenda

Commissioner May did not wait long to respond. He told the room his position was already settled.

“I’m never going to vote for a data center. I mean, on the record.”
—Commissioner Lumon May

When Johnson pressed the board to vote immediately, May asked whether the item could be added to the regular agenda to pursue a ban. County Attorney Alison Rogers explained that a moratorium would require an ordinance and a public hearing—it could not simply be voted on that evening. But she walked May through the proper steps: at the regular board meeting later in the evening, he could move to direct staff to bring back a proposal to schedule a public hearing on a moratorium ordinance.

May agreed to do exactly that. Chair Ashlee Hofberger thanked him and invited the remaining speakers to continue, noting that all who had come out would still be heard.

FloridaWest: No Active Negotiations

Hofberger invited FloridaWest CEO Chris Plate to address the crowd and clarify how the data center discussion had reached this point.

• Plate was direct: FloridaWest has never been in active negotiations to build a data center in Escambia County. He said that phrase had come from media coverage, not from FloridaWest. There was no proposal, no incentive commitment, and no pending public action before the board, PEDC, or FloridaWest.

He also described two factors that make large-scale data centers structurally unsuited to Escambia County regardless of policy:

• FloridaWest does not pursue standalone or hyperscale data centers—they are not on its target industry list.
• The region’s power grid cannot support one. Large utility users exceeding 50 megawatts are now required under Florida Senate Bill 484, signed this year, to pay for their own utility infrastructure—meaning the cost would not fall on residents.

“The large scale box that some people are picturing in their mind is not coming here,” Plate told the audience. He said FloridaWest would rather direct available resources toward the targeted industries already on its list.

His remarks drew some hostile responses from the crowd, and Hofberger twice issued warnings to allow him to finish.

Commissioners Speak for Themselves

The commissioners offered their own positions.

Commissioner Steve Stroberger explained that when WEAR had reached out to him about data centers, he had thought they were discussing Dollar Generals and storage units. He acknowledged he had been the only commissioner to call back the station for an interview, and said someone had taken part of his remarks out of context to suggest he supported data centers. “I don’t have anything more to say to that,” he said, adding that he would not want a data center near his own home.

Commissioner Mike Kohler said he had not returned media calls because he lacked enough information at the time. He said he had called Plate directly and confirmed there were no active negotiations. He pointed to his experience living with daily brownouts and load shedding during 26 months in Guam as shaping his concerns about power supply strain. “I think the conversation was healthy,” he told the crowd. “You’re probably going to get what you came down here for.”

Commissioner May returned to a broader point about environmental justice. He noted that if a data center were ever proposed, it would almost certainly be sited in a low-income or minority neighborhood—citing Wedgewood, the Creole Superfund site, and other environmental injustices in Escambia County’s history.

“We should always only put things in our neighborhood that we would want in our neighborhood. My mother always said never give a gift that you wouldn’t give to yourself.”
—Commissioner Lumon May

May also pushed back on what he called misinformation circulating in the community. He said no commissioner had ever been briefed on or approached about data centers, and suggested the turnout—though driven by genuine concern—had been fueled in part by inaccurate claims. He estimated that the large staff presence required for the unplanned discussion had cost the county between $10,000 and $50,000 in staff time.

The Legal Path Forward: A Ban by August

At the end of the meeting, County Attorney Rogers laid out a concrete timeline.

Rogers noted that multiple other counties and municipalities across Florida are grappling with the same question, and some have already acted. She said she would prepare a draft drawing on those models.

All five commissioners indicated agreement. The board was adjourned.

The next regular Board of County Commissioners meeting is scheduled for July 23. The public hearing on the proposed data center ordinance is targeted for August 6.