A one-year moratorium on data centers has been introduced in New Orleans, Louisiana.

At a special meeting this week, the New Orleans City Council approved two motions following news of a proposed data center in New Orleans East and the regulation of future data center developments citywide.

The motions placed a temporary moratorium on data center developments while the city planning commission (CPC) conducts public hearings to evaluate zoning definitions, standards, and other land use controls related to data center uses.

Motion M-26-62 directs the CPC to consider amendments to the city’s Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) to formally define data centers and related uses, determine whether such uses should be permitted or conditional within various zoning districts or overlays, and establish appropriate use and design standards. These standards may include density requirements, sound-mitigation measures, safety measures, and other regulations intended to protect the quality of life of nearby residents, businesses, and institutions.

Motion M-26-63 directs the CPC to study the creation of a temporary Data Center Interim Zoning District (IZD), which would pause the issuance of occupational licenses and approvals for data centers citywide for one year while zoning standards are evaluated.

“Too often, the city of New Orleans is reacting to new technology when it's already in our neighborhoods, rather than anticipating potential problems,” said Council President JP Morrell. “Today's passage of the Interim Zoning District turns a page on that narrative by placing a hold on any future development while the City Planning Commission studies the potential impacts of an AI data center in New Orleans East. The City Council shares the community's concerns about the potential adverse effects a data center could have in the East, and no stone will be left unturned.”

The motions come after news surfaced that MS Solar Grid Data was looking to develop a data center in New Orleans East on vacant land near Interstate 10 and Read Boulevard. Founded last year, the company describes itself on its website as a developer of a solar-powered data centers known as Data One Eastern Rise.

Full details of the planned development haven’t been shared. Planning commission officials said this week that the company had not yet formally applied for the project.

The company sent out letters in November ahead of a public meeting, outlining plans to develop a data center at 10251 I-10 W Service Road and 10200 Plainfield Drive. Data centers aren’t defined in the city code, and the company was seeking to rezone the properties from single-family residence to C2 Auto-orientated commercial district.

“This zoning change will allow us to develop a two-phase commercial technology data center, designed to support modern digital infrastructure and create economic activity within the New Orleans East community,” the letter said.

New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno publicly announced her opposition to the development.

James Ramsey, CEO of MS Solar Grid Data, criticized the council’s decision.

“You just announced this to the whole world that we’re a city that don’t know what the future is and we don’t want the future. As a matter of fact, we’re just planning so that it doesn’t come here,” he told local press. Ramsey also leads local property firm JC Property Management.

District E Councilmember Jason Hughes added: “District E deserves development that adds value without undermining the quality of life residents have fought to protect. This effort is about closing gaps in our zoning code and putting clear guardrails in place. I will insist on meaningful community input before any zoning changes move forward.”

A Change.org petition against the development has gathered more than 200 signatures at the time of writing.

Local non-profit advocacy group Alliance for Affordable Energy was opposed to the development, saying the project threatened to “perpetuate environmental racism.”

“This latest data center project is being proposed in New Orleans East, a predominantly African American and Vietnamese American community that has long borne the disproportionate impacts of industrial development and environmental harm,” the group said. “The Alliance does not support the buildout of resource-intensive data centers in our city or state, and we’re glad to see the New Orleans City Council and Mayor Moreno taking the issue of data centers seriously."

Amid rising anti-data center sentiments across the country, local officials are increasingly introducing blocks to prevent development.

Multiple councils across Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio, Tennessee, Missouri, Idaho, California, and Pennsylvania have all introduced moratoria of different stripes against data center development or denied ordinance changes that would allow them to be built. Various counties in Indiana have blocked new developments.

Senators and prospective governors have also called for statewide bans on development. Senator Bernie Sanders calls for a nationwide AI data center construction moratorium.