Huron pauses data-center permits for 1 year

Huron has halted data-center permit applications and approvals for one year while the city studies how to regulate the facilities.

City Council adopted Ordinance 2026-33 (PDF, 2 pages) Tuesday. The signed ordinance took effect immediately and applies in every city zoning district.

The pause covers applications for zoning, occupancy, conditional-use and building approvals. The city also may not issue those approvals during the moratorium.

Council says in the ordinance that Huron's zoning code does not specifically address data centers or set standards tailored to their electrical demand, continuous operations and cooling systems. The pause gives city officials time to review the code and consider changes.

The ordinance defines the uses under review to include facilities housing intensive computing operations or networking equipment for intensive data processing, storage or transmission. It was introduced by Mayor Monty Tapp.

The document does not identify a particular proposed project. It sets a one-year review period without specifying what permanent regulations council will adopt.