The Normal Town Council plans to vote on a six-month moratorium on data centers on Monday night.
The vote comes as Bloomington’s council is set to discuss a temporary moratorium of its own during its nonvoting meeting that night.
In a memo to the town council, staff say a moratorium would give the town the necessary time to “study best practices, evaluate local conditions, and develop clear, consistent standards within the Town Code. This will ensure that future data center development, if permitted, aligns with community priorities and infrastructure capacity.”
Staff say data centers present “distinct challenges and impacts” that the town’s land-use regulations are not currently built to address.
Demand for hyperscale data centers has grown due to artificial intelligence, but efforts to locate them in Central Illinois has led to lots of pushback from residents worried about how impacts on infrastructure and electricity and water supplies.
Normal’s moratorium would remain in place through Nov. 30, 2026.
Mayor Chris Koos has said the town has not received any inquiries from data center operators.
