City Council Passes Data Center Moratorium

City Council Passes Data Center Moratorium

September 3, 2026

At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, the Mattoon City Council passed a moratorium on large-scale data center developments. A moratorium is a temporary pause or suspension of activity.

The moratorium applies to any new data center developments larger than 21,780 square feet, or about half an acre, within Mattoon and the area up to 1.5 miles outside City limits where the City has zoning authority. This size limit is relatively small compared with many large, hyperscale data center projects, which can include much larger buildings or groups of buildings on hundreds of acres.

The moratorium does not stop existing businesses from continuing to operate. It allows the few existing businesses that may fall under the City’s definition of a data center to continue their current operations. However, the City will not accept new applications for data centers larger than 21,780 square feet while the moratorium is in place.

Our community members have raised valid questions about how large data centers could affect our water, environment, health, power costs, City services, and finances. City Council members have also raised many of these questions.

The moratorium gives the City time to study these issues, determining the possible costs, benefits, and impacts so the City Council can make the most informed decisions.

The moratorium will be renewed each year and requires the City Council to take action to change or end it.

Thank you to everyone who has shared questions, concerns, and ideas. We will continue to listen, share what we learn, and work together as we plan for Mattoon’s future.