The city of Renton has temporarily banned data centers from the city, Monday night.
At the Aug. 17 Renton City Council meeting, the council unanimously approved a moratorium on the filing, acceptance, processing, and approval of applications and permits for the siting establishment or expansion of large data centers within the city for up to one year.
Renton Municipal Code defines data centers as “a facility used primarily for off-site storage of computer systems and associated components including applications and secure data.” Data centers typically require uninterrupted power supplies, cooling systems, backup power systems and battery storage, according to the city.
“[…] Large data centers can impose significant impacts on electrical and water utility capacity, utility rates, land use, traffic, noise, air quality associated with backup power generation, public infrastructure, and the environment, and the magnitude of these impacts varies with the size, electrical load, and design of each facility…” the ordinance said.
The moratorium does not apply to applications before the effective date of the ordinance or any maintenance, repair or interior alteration of an established large data center existing on the effective date, as long as it does not expand the facilities footprint, or electrical or water service capacities.
Councilmember Kim-Khánh Văn proposed instructing the city administration to begin working on a data center moratorium on June 1, earlier this year.
“I am very concerned, given AI is rapidly moving faster than what we can anticipate and someone who is an attorney who wants more data, I move to refer the matter of a moratorium on building data centers in the city of Renton to the administration,” Văn said.
According to the World Resources Institute, there were more than 3,900 data centers across the United States as of January 2026, with Virginia having the most. One of the biggest critiques of these centers is their high demands for energy and water. A single modern AI data center can use as much power as 100,000 homes and up to 300,000 gallons of water a day, according to the World Resources Institute.
Since Văn proposed the moratorium, Federal Way, Seattle, Spokane, Marysville, Mount Vernon, La Conner, Skagit County and Snohomish County have already enacted moratoriums or bans on data centers.
“Large AI data centers are popping up across the country, driving up utility costs for residents and small businesses while creating air, water, and noise pollution,” said Seattle Councilmember Eddie Lin. “We’ve heard from tens of thousands of residents – Seattleites should not be subsidizing record profits of large corporations from the AI boom. At the same time, the city hosts smaller co-location facilities that provide data processing for 911 call centers, municipal activities, hospitals, universities, and cancer research. We can support these essential services while also developing appropriate safeguards around mega AI data centers locally and regionally.”
In April, four companies approached Seattle City Light to build five large-scale data centers, according to the Seattle City Council Blog. These proposed facilities would have a combined maximum demand of 369 megawatts, enough electricity to power approximately 300,000 homes.
“The passing of today’s moratorium does not stop AI or data centers. It does, however, pause to hold those accountable in the development of data centers, while understanding the long-lasting impact on people and land,” said Seattle Councilmember Debora Juarez. “Today’s decision impacts future generations and we have a responsibility to protect our most vital resources. We look forward to working with the Mayor’s Office, stakeholders, and community members in the future of data centers that will keep the best interest of all people, land, and water at the forefront of our decision-making.”
