The Destin City Council unanimously agreed Monday night to have an ordinance drafted that would place a temporary moratorium on data centers in the city.
Councilman Kevin Schmidt brought up the topic at the end of the Sept. 21 meeting.
“I would like to make a motion to have an ordinance for a moratorium on data centers in the City of Destin to be prepared and brought to us while we are continuing to do research and analysis on them and what’s going on in the state legislature,” Schmidt said.
The vote came less than a week after Okaloosa County commissioners rejected a proposed 12-month data center moratorium in a 3-2 vote at their Sept. 15 meeting. Commissioners had voted Sept. 3 to have county staff begin developing a regulatory framework for data centers.
Councilwoman Sandy Trammell seconded Schmidt’s motion.
“I am certainly for where this is going,” Mayor Bobby Wagner said.
Wagner asked City Attorney Kim Kopp whether the moratorium needed a timetable. Kopp said it would be temporary while studies and reviews are underway, and that the council could set a time frame when the ordinance comes back for consideration.
- “When we bring it to you, if you want a time in it, you can certainly let us know, or you can let me know now,” Kopp said. “But otherwise, I’ll just say temporary while we’re looking at it.”
Councilman Dewey Destin said he supported the measure but questioned the need for it.
“I think we’re all probably unanimous in our desire to not allow data centers in Destin,” Destin said. “However, I’m not sure what this is about because there is no property in Destin to put a data center in. If we’re making a political statement, I’m okay with that, but here we go, making a rule to prohibit something that there’s no chance at all can happen in Destin. But I’m gonna vote for it.”
Schmidt responded by pointing to past developments in the city he said he never expected.
“I never would have thought I would’ve saw the Emerald Grande before the Destin bridge either, but there it is,” Schmidt said. “I’m just trying to take extra caution.”
The motion passed 7-0. The ordinance will return to the council for consideration at a future meeting.
One Response
I would think the Destin City Council’s time would be better spent on items ALREADY critical to the area instead of some pie in the sky internet hoax. They’ve already let the developers ruins the beach and Destin as a whole. Besides, there isn’t any land left to destroy. I certainly wish The Council had been this attentive to our future (the lack of roadways) BEFORE the money grab started.