Malabar Ordinance 2026-11: Town Council First Reading on Data Center Moratorium, October 19

Summary

The Malabar Town Council will hold the first reading of Ordinance 2026-11 on Monday, October 19, 2026. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall. The ordinance would pause applications related to data centers and large load customers in the town for 12 months. The staff report ties the ordinance to Chapter 2026-65, Laws of Florida, a 2026 state law on data centers.

When and Where

The first reading is item 10.a on the Council's regular meeting agenda, listed under Action Items. The town's calendar lists the meeting at Town Hall, 2725 Malabar Road, Malabar, FL 32950, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, October 19, 2026.

What Ordinance 2026-11 Would Do

Under Section 3 of the draft ordinance, for 12 months after the effective date the town would not accept, process, review, or approve any application for a development permit, development order, Comprehensive Plan amendment, or other approval related to a data center or large load customer in town limits. This includes any utility service request that would allow or help such a use to be built, expanded, or intensified. The Council could end the moratorium earlier by ordinance.

Section 4 applies the moratorium to these applications.

All applications submitted on or after the effective date.
Any pending application that has not received a final development order or development permit before the effective date.

The ordinance also states that early steps such as a concept plan review, preapplication conference, or completeness determination do not create a vested right to establish or operate one of these uses.

Key Terms

A data center is a facility that primarily contains electronic equipment used to process, store, and transmit digital information. It may stand alone or sit within a larger structure that uses environmental control equipment. This follows section 373.203(3), Florida Statutes.
A large load customer has an anticipated monthly peak load of 50 megawatts or more at a single location, calculated as the highest average load over a 15-minute interval. Customers sharing a single location under a colocation or similar agreement are counted together. This follows section 366.043(2)(d), Florida Statutes.
Development permits include building permits, zoning permits, subdivision approvals, rezonings, special exceptions, variances, and similar official actions. This follows section 163.3164, Florida Statutes.

What Is Not Covered

A data center or large load customer use that lawfully existed before the effective date may continue. It may not be increased, expanded, or intensified. Its structures may be maintained and repaired within those limits.
Server rooms, computer rooms, network closets, and ordinary computer or security equipment are exempt when they are incidental to a principal use other than a data center and support the occupant's own operations rather than off-site third parties.
Valid vested rights under applicable law are not impaired.

Why the Town Proposed It

The staff report says the Council reviewed recent changes in Florida law at its October 5, 2026 meeting and gave unanimous consent to direct staff to draft a temporary moratorium. It states that the town's Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan do not formally classify these facilities or set siting, operational, or compatibility standards for them.

The ordinance's findings say the Council has noted increasing interest in data centers. They say these uses may place large demands on electric service, water supply, cooling, stormwater, backup generation, fuel storage, fire protection, and emergency response. They also note possible compatibility concerns from noise and heat.

The draft minutes of the October 5 meeting are on the October 19 consent agenda. They say the Town Attorney recommended a moratorium while staff researches possible paths forward, and that Council reached consensus to proceed with one. One council member is recorded as supporting a 180-day moratorium, while the draft ordinance sets 12 months.

What Staff Would Study

Section 5 directs staff to review the town's plan and codes and prepare proposed amendments. Topics may include these.

Where these uses should be permitted, prohibited, or conditionally permitted, and under what standards.
Compatibility with nearby land uses, including buffering and screening.
Effects on electric, water, wastewater, stormwater, transportation, fire protection, and emergency response.
Cost responsibility, including protection against cost shifting to other utility customers to the extent authorized by law.
Tax base and employment effects, and the findings of the state study required by Section 7 of Chapter 2026-65.

Florida Law Background

Chapter 2026-65, Laws of Florida, is CS/CS/SB 484 (2026). It created section 163.326, Florida Statutes. That section states the Legislature's finding that data centers and other large load customers may present unique planning, infrastructure, and compatibility considerations. It says the Legislature intends these to be addressed through local planning and land development regulations. It also says local governments keep their planning and land development authority over large load customers. The ordinance describes Chapter 2026-65 as amending section 163.326, but the session law text says it created that section.

The law also did the following.

It created section 366.043. Public utility tariffs must reasonably make each large load customer bear its own full cost of service, and that cost may not be shifted to the general body of ratepayers.
It created section 373.262. A water management district or the Department of Environmental Protection may not issue a water allocation permit to a large-scale data center if the use is harmful to water resources or is prohibited by the applicable local zoning regulations and local plan.
It directed the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to contract for a study of large-scale data centers due July 1, 2027.

Most of the law took effect July 1, 2026. Section 163.326 and the new definitions in section 373.203 took effect when the act became law.

What Happens Next

The staff report asks Council for a motion to approve the first reading. The ordinance form has blank lines for first and second reading votes. No second reading date appears in the October 19 packet. Section 8 states that the ordinance takes effect immediately after adoption.

How to Take Part

The agenda states that comments on agenda items may be made as those items come up. A speaker card is required, and each speaker has a five minute limit.

The agenda also states that anyone who plans to appeal a Council decision may need a verbatim transcript, which the town does not provide. Anyone who needs a special accommodation should contact the Town's ADA Coordinator at least 48 hours before the meeting.