Hillsborough County could be the next local government to ban artificial intelligence data centers as communities across the country rally to block their construction.
Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously voted for county staff to draft a ban on building artificial intelligence data centers. They also asked for a study on the threat of large-scale AI data centers to the county’s water supply.
Universities or companies have historically used data centers to support computing needs like cloud services and databases. AI data centers are much larger and, because of their size, generate more heat and use more electricity. The centers then use water to cool down machines.
In a January report, the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association said a data center’s water use could range from nothing to millions of gallons a day, depending on how it works.
Commissioners Chris Boles and Donna Cameron Cepeda separately asked staff for the study. Cameron Cepeda also asked staff to draft a moratorium on the construction of large-scale AI data centers.
“AI data centers are rapidly expanding and may have significant impacts on infrastructure, utilities and land use,” Cameron Cepeda said Wednesday. “The county needs to be ready to address the impacts of such developments.”
Commissioners and county staff confirmed Wednesday they have not received any formal applications to build a large-scale data center.
Cameron Cepeda originally wanted to put a five-year moratorium on AI data center development, she said, but the county attorney’s office said a moratorium would not be allowed under Senate Bill 180, which passed in 2025. She said she changed her request to draft the moratorium to be ready by October 2027, when that law expires.
That law applies to local governments under federal disaster declarations from hurricanes Debby, Helene or Milton. It prevents them from proposing or adopting “any moratorium on construction, reconstruction, or redevelopment of any property” damaged by the hurricanes. It also does not allow “more restrictive or burdensome amendments” to land development regulations until October 2027.
Other counties in Florida on that list have passed data center moratoriums. A Hillsborough County spokesperson referred a reporter to the state Legislature when asked how the law prevents a Hillsborough County moratorium.
Data centers are not currently listed uses in the Hillsborough County Land Development Code, Development Services Director Adam Gormly said Wednesday. That means any data center in unincorporated Hillsborough would need to be added as an allowable use by county commissioners.
Wednesday’s move comes as part of a bigger push to ban large-scale data centers across Tampa Bay, Florida and beyond. Nearby Hernando, Pasco and Manatee counties have recently passed yearlong moratoriums on AI data centers. Pinellas hasn’t passed a moratorium, but it doesn’t allow them in unincorporated areas of the county. City governments in Pinellas could still consider proposals.
Several speakers mentioned a 1,000-acre stretch of land east of Tampa that is being marketed as a potential data center site. The land, which the owners are calling University Energy Park and saying could also support industrial or commercial uses, has gained attention on social media.
The county hasn’t received a formal large-scale data center proposal, Gormly said in Wednesday’s meeting, including for University Energy Park.
Hillsborough isn’t able to dictate how land is advertised, Commissioner Joshua Wostal said Wednesday. He said he wants to ensure data centers “are completely isolated” from public utility systems.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed a law in May that regulates large-scale data centers statewide. The law requires local water management districts to deny permits to data centers “if the proposed use of the water is harmful to the water resources of the area.” It also mandates that the centers use reclaimed water when possible, and that any data center “bears its own full cost of service” without subsidy by the public.
It does not include a ban on government employees signing nondisclosure agreements with data center developers. That’s often how such developments have been quietly considered in other areas of the country.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District oversees water use permits across Tampa Bay, as well as Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties. It has a governing board that must also approve a data center water permit, spokesperson Michele Sager said. This is new as of December 2025, Sager said, and means the board has to approve how much water a data center could use.
The district has not yet received a permit request for a large-scale data center in the district, Sager said Wednesday.
