Today is Tuesday, September 22, 2026. In roughly 48 hours—Thursday, September 24, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.—the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners is scheduled for second reading and adoption of a proposed one-year Large-Scale Data Center moratorium at the Jane M. Thompson Memorial Chambers, 6th Floor, 301 N. Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach. That clock comes straight from the county’s August 27, 2026 BCC Zoning Hearing agenda: staff recommended first reading on Aug. 27 and permission to advertise this Sep. 24 hearing at 9:30 a.m.
This is not a scorecard of elected officials. It is an owner, landlord, broker, and AI-infrastructure operator checklist—what the draft ordinance would freeze, what stays open under 50 megawatts, who is likely grandfathered versus paused, and what to do before and during Thursday’s hearing. Brief process map only; not legal advice. Confirm the day-of agenda and any ordinance exhibit on the county’s BCC Hearings and Meetings page before you brief a lender, seller, or client.
On Aug. 27, commissioners advanced the measure on a 7–0 first reading after the Zoning Commission had recommended approval 8–1 on Aug. 6. Coverage from the Palm Beach Post, CBS12, Town-Crier, and WPBF all frame the same owner-facing outcome: if Thursday’s final vote adopts the ordinance, the county pauses new qualifying large-scale applications for about one year while staff and a task force write permanent ULDC standards. The pause is not yet in effect until adoption.
Regional context for SoFla owners watching AI and industrial land sits alongside the Gazette’s live corridor map at SoFla Economic Buzz: Palm Beach–Broward–Miami Owner Corridor Map 2026 and the West Palm tech/real-estate read at West Palm Beach Technology Growth Is Becoming a Real Estate, Talent, and AI Story. This package is the hearing-week process map, not a republish of those pieces.
Thursday logistics: 9:30 a.m., 301 N Olive, second and final reading
When: Thursday, September 24, 2026, 9:30 a.m. (staff recommendation stamp on the Aug. 27 agenda Item 5). Where: Board of County Commissioners Zoning Hearing · Jane M. Thompson Memorial Chambers, 6th Floor · 301 N. Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 (same chambers header used for the Aug. 27 BCC Zoning Hearing; standard BCC zoning venue noted on the hearings hub). What: Second reading and requested adoption of ULDC revisions that (1) define a Large-Scale Data Center use and (2) impose a moratorium on applications that fall under that definition in unincorporated Palm Beach County. Project manager (Aug. 27 packet): Darren Leiser, Assistant County Attorney III. Agenda watch: As of Tuesday morning, a dedicated Sep. 24 agenda PDF was not yet confirmed on the public hearings index—county practice posts agendas and backups roughly one week ahead. Refresh the BCC Hearings and Meetings page Wednesday night and Thursday morning. If the posted agenda moves the item or the clock, the posted agenda controls.
Arrive early. Bring parcel ID(s), any LOI or PSA language that assumes a data-center or AI-infra use, utility/load letters if you have them, and a one-page ask tied to what a final reading can still do: adopt, amend, continue, or deny. Public comment is part of the hearing process, not theater.
What the draft freeze covers — and what it does not
Ordinance language advanced through the Zoning Commission’s Aug. 6 materials (Add/Delete to the staff report) is blunt about process, not personalities. Beginning on the ordinance’s effective date, the Board would impose a moratorium on accepting Comprehensive Plan amendment applications, Zoning applications, and applicable requests for Zoning approval for Large-Scale Data Centers in unincorporated Palm Beach County. While the moratorium is in effect, the county shall not accept, process, or approve any application relating to Zoning approval of a Large-Scale Data Center or any Comprehensive Plan amendment related to one. The same draft text states the moratorium shall not apply to properties damaged by Hurricanes Debby, Helene, or Milton.
Owner translation: this is a pause on new large-scale filings and processing in the unincorporated county while rules catch up—not a permanent ban on data centers as a use category. CBS12 and the Palm Beach Post both stress the pause is not yet in effect until final approval.
Municipal note that brokers keep forgetting: city zoning is separate. The county ULDC track described here applies to unincorporated Palm Beach County. A site inside a municipality follows that city’s code and calendar unless the city mirrors a similar pause.
Frozen versus grandfathered — the distinction owners actually need
Coverage after first reading converges on a practical split:
- New / future applications that meet the Large-Scale definition would be paused for about one year after adoption—no accept, process, or approve while the moratorium runs (Town-Crier; Palm Beach Post).
- Applications already in before the ordinance takes effect are described in local coverage as remaining on a review path rather than being wiped by the new pause (Town-Crier: submitted-before still reviewed; Palm Beach Post: pending appeal on Project Tango not affected by a new-application moratorium).
- Secondary trade coverage has also discussed a staff-report nuance around applications already deemed complete (“Sufficient”) versus incomplete filings. Do not invent that line into your Thursday comment. Bring the ordinance exhibit and staff report from the Sep. 24 packet when it posts, and ask staff on the record which applications keep processing under the adopted text.
Until Thursday’s packet and any adopted ordinance are posted, treat “grandfathered” as coverage + draft text, not as a closed private ruling on your specific folio. That is why this story stays process-only.
The 50 megawatt line — and the sub-50 path
The threshold owners and brokers must lock is 50 megawatts of anticipated monthly peak load.
Town-Crier reports the ordinance defines a large-scale data center as a single-location facility primarily containing electronic equipment used to store and process digital information, with an anticipated monthly peak load of 50 megawatts or more, aligned with state statutes that use the same 50 MW figure for large-load / large-scale data center definitions. The Palm Beach Post is explicit on the open lane: any application submitted during the moratorium must be for a data center with anticipated monthly peak load less than 50 megawatts.
Two companion process facts matter for underwriting and LOIs:
- Site-level power, not parcel games. Reporting after first reading describes language aimed at preventing developers from fragmenting a campus across parcels to stay under 50 MW—power assessed across the property / single location, not gamed building-by-building (Florida Press; Town-Crier).
- Sub-50 MW certification. Town-Crier reports the draft requires developers proposing below the 50 MW limit to obtain professional engineer certification that the project stays under the threshold.
The Aug. 27 BCC agenda notes that Zoning Commissioners, even while recommending approval 8–1, flagged concern that applicants might file data centers under 50 MW. That is process tension written into the packet—not a reason for this story to invent a lower threshold. Thursday’s exhibit controls.
AI-infra adjacency, plain English: hyperscale and large AI training campuses that pencil at or above 50 MW peak are the category the pause targets. Edge, micro, or smaller commercial compute that can honestly stay under 50 MW monthly peak—with PE support—sits on a different filing path while the large-scale lane is frozen. Do not treat “AI” as a synonym for “automatically frozen.” Treat peak load as the switch.
For broader SoFla data-center framing already on the Gazette (consumer/resilience, not this hearing), see South Florida Data Centers: Safe, Hurricane-Resilient, and Consumer-Protected.
Who this hits this week — owners, landlords, brokers, contractors
Landlords and land sellers with western or industrial-edge parcels marketed toward “AI / data center / hyperscale” need to rewrite listing language and LOI contingencies around Sep. 24 adoption risk: if the ordinance passes, new large-scale zoning and Comp Plan amendment filings in the unincorporated county pause for roughly a year. Cap rates, earnest-money timing, and “use approval” milestones written before Aug. 27 may no longer match county intake.
Brokers should separate three conversations with buyers: (1) unincorporated county large-scale (≥50 MW) risk under the pending moratorium; (2) sub-50 MW path still described as open, with PE certification; (3) municipal sites on a different code. Do not sell a municipal site as “already under the county pause,” and do not sell an unincorporated ≥50 MW concept as “business as usual after Thursday.”
AI-infrastructure operators and developers should inventory every Palm Beach County folio: jurisdiction (city vs unincorporated), anticipated monthly peak load, whether any zoning or Comp Plan application is already filed and complete, utility interconnection status, and whether hurricane-damage exemption language could apply. The draft pause is about land-use applications, not a Florida PSC rate case—keep utility and zoning tracks labeled separately when you brief investors.
Contractors, engineers, and environmental consultants face a demand shift, not a vanishing act: large-scale entitlement work may idle for a year in the unincorporated lane while sound studies, buffer design, utility coordination, and PE load certifications for sub-50 MW work become the near-term billable stack once permanent rules are drafted.
Adjacent small businesses (power, cooling, fiber, security, temporary housing for construction crews) should treat Thursday as a pipeline timing event: capital projects may slip calendars even when the long-term regional demand thesis does not disappear. Pair that calendar with Palm Beach County’s procurement rhythm—owner prep for the Oct. 2 Partners Matchmaker is a separate Gazette how-to at Palm Beach Partners Business Matchmaker — Owner Prep.
What staff and the task force would do during a one-year pause
If adopted, the one-year window is framed as time for county staff to research large-scale data centers and propose ULDC revisions—landscape buffers and separations, sound studies, utility coordination, and related siting standards appear repeatedly in first-reading coverage (CBS12, Palm Beach Post, Town-Crier). Commissioners also discussed standing up a task force, with each commissioner able to appoint a member and offices inviting residents who spoke at first reading to apply (Town-Crier).
Owner action during the pause (if adopted): watch for workshop notices, draft standards, and any PE / noise / buffer exhibits. Permanent rules outlast the pause. A one-year freeze that expires without you reading the replacement standards is how operators get surprised twice.
Owner checklist — before Thursday and in the chambers
Tuesday–Wednesday (now → Sep. 23) 1. Confirm whether each target parcel is unincorporated Palm Beach County or inside a city. 2. Write down anticipated monthly peak load (MW) from utility or engineer letters—do not guess. Flag ≥50 MW vs <50 MW. 3. List every zoning / Comp Plan filing date and completeness status with PZB. Screenshot intake receipts. 4. Bookmark BCC Hearings and Meetings and re-check for the Sep. 24 agenda + ordinance exhibit. 5. Re-read the Aug. 27 BCC agenda Item 5 summary so your Thursday notes match staff’s second-reading path. 6. If you hold hurricane-damaged inventory from Debby, Helene, or Milton, pull damage documentation before you assert any exemption conversation—draft text carves those properties out of the moratorium. 7. Update LOIs/PSAs: add or revise contingencies for adoption of a Large-Scale Data Center moratorium and for PE certification if you are pitching sub-50 MW.
Thursday morning (Sep. 24) 8. Download the posted agenda. Confirm item number, start time, and whether the ordinance text changed since Aug. 27. 9. Arrive at 301 N. Olive with buffer for security and seating; hearing stamp is 9:30 a.m. 10. Comment with one ask: clarify grandfathering/completeness; confirm sub-50 MW + PE path; note a specific parcel class impact; or ask where the adopted ordinance will be posted. Bring numbers, not slogans. 11. After the vote, capture the outcome (adopt / amend / continue / deny) and the effective date language. Do not rely on social clips.
Friday and after 12. If adopted, calendar the approximate one-year horizon and task-force / workshop notices. 13. Reprice listing and buyer pipelines for ≥50 MW concepts in the unincorporated county. 14. Keep city-site conversations on city calendars. 15. Treat this package as process journalism. Entitlement counsel and land-use counsel own opinions on your folio.
What this hearing is — and is not
Thursday is a final ULDC reading on a defined Large-Scale Data Center moratorium after a 7–0 first reading on Aug. 27. It is an owner-impact Business story: peak-load thresholds, frozen versus continuing applications, unincorporated versus city jurisdiction, and a real 9:30 a.m. clock at 301 N. Olive. It is not a permanent industry ban, not a utility rate hearing, and not a permission slip to invent megawatt numbers or vote counts. Lock the 50 MW line, the one-year pause on new large-scale accept/process/approve, and the sub-50 MW path as coverage and draft text describe them—then verify against Thursday’s posted packet.
Put Sep. 24, 9:30 a.m. on the shared calendar. Refresh the county hearings page before you brief a client. The ordinance that matters is the one the Board adopts—or does not—on the record.
Key Facts for Owners and Search
- Hearing: Thu Sep 24, 2026 · 9:30 a.m. · Jane M. Thompson Memorial Chambers, 6th Floor · 301 N. Olive Ave, West Palm Beach (confirm day-of agenda).
- Action: Second / final reading — Large-Scale Data Center definition + one-year moratorium (ULDC).
- First reading: Aug 27, 2026 · advanced 7–0.
- Zoning Commission: Aug 6, 2026 · recommended approval 8–1 (Aug. 27 BCC agenda).
- Threshold: ≥50 MW anticipated monthly peak load = Large-Scale (coverage + draft definition aligned to state 50 MW line).
- Freeze: Unincorporated PBC — county shall not accept, process, or approve zoning apps / related Comp Plan amendments for Large-Scale Data Centers while moratorium is in effect.
- Open path: <50 MW applications during the pause (Palm Beach Post); PE certification for sub-50 proposals (Town-Crier); site-level power anti-fragmentation language reported after first reading.
- Exemptions (draft): properties damaged by Hurricanes Debby, Helene, or Milton.
- Grandfathering (coverage): new/future apps paused; apps already in / pending appeals generally described as continuing—verify on adopted text.
- Not yet in effect until Sep 24 adoption.
- Hub: BCC Hearings and Meetings · Aug 27 agenda PDF: Item 5 path.
Owner Q&A
Is the moratorium already in effect? No. Coverage and the Aug. 27 packet frame Sep. 24 as second reading / adoption. Until the Board adopts and the ordinance’s effective date runs, treat intake as pre-adoption process.
What is the power threshold? Large-scale is framed at 50 megawatts or more anticipated monthly peak load. During a moratorium, applications are described as needing to stay under 50 MW.
Can a sub-50 MW data center still file? Local coverage says yes, with PE certification that the project stays below the threshold. Confirm on the Sep. 24 ordinance exhibit.
Does this bind Boca, West Palm Beach, or other cities? The draft moratorium text reviewed for this package targets unincorporated Palm Beach County. Cities keep their own zoning unless they act separately.
What about Project Tango or other already-denied / appealed matters? Palm Beach Post reports the developer’s appeal is not affected by a moratorium on new applications. That is coverage about pending process—not a Gazette ruling on any case.
What should landlords put in LOIs this week? Contingencies for Sep. 24 adoption, jurisdiction (city vs unincorporated), peak-load class (≥50 vs <50), and timing of any zoning/Comp Plan filing completeness—plus a counsel review. This article is not a form LOI.
