By Englewood REVIEW Staff and Suncoast Searchlight
Sarasota County won’t entertain the idea of any hyper-scale data centers for at least a year. Commissioners voted Wednesday to stop all new proposals, reviews, and approvals of big data centers until at least July 2027. But if you listen to them talk, a permanent ban seems like their actual goal.
This decision didn’t come out of nowhere. All over the country, local governments now face pressure over data center plans. Even neighboring DeSoto County just passed a similar moratorium.
Sarasota’s move follows a request by XF Group, which wanted to build a data center on Cattlemen Road. The answer from county leaders was an emphatic no.
Here’s what they’re targeting: hyper-scale data centers, really massive operations using at least 50 megawatts of power. At a minimum, that’s as much energy as 35,000 homes. At maximum, you’re talking about the needs of a small city.
The county’s planning department spelled out the problem: these centers devour electricity and gulp down millions of gallons of water a day. They force governments to build costly new infrastructure just to keep up.
Commissioner Teresa Mast took a hard line. She insisted the county shouldn’t even accept applications for these centers. Commissioner Mark Smith piled on, adding worries that wastewater could poison the water supply. “I think we’re all singing from the same songbook here,” Smith said. “Environmentally, I think it’s a disaster.”
Later this summer, staff will return with suggestions for even tighter restrictions.
The public isn’t staying quiet, either. Across Sarasota, residents have fought back hard, citing water contamination, power grid strain, and non-stop noise. Data centers have become a headline issue, especially in rural areas, as tech giants keep pushing their expansion. And it’s not just about land or water; AI companies have also funneled millions into Byron Donalds’ campaign for Florida governor.
Why is this fight happening right now? On Wednesday, the county needed to decide how to classify data centers in its zoning rules. Neunder and Smith made it clear: in August, they want to come back ready to block hyper-scale centers permanently. “The hum of these things, the size of them, they’re lit up like prisons because of the security lights at night. They don’t belong in Sarasota County,” Smith said.
Sarasota isn’t alone. All over Florida, counties are racing to put up barriers. Sarasota’s wealth and population let it say no, something poorer rural counties, like DeSoto, find much harder.
In DeSoto, one company wants to build a giant complex with a dozen data centers. In March, DeSoto commissioners agreed to rezone 34 acres, an old power plant site, for the first facility. Now the developer, DCIP Group, wants to expand to 800 acres, with the possibility of growing to 1,300. However, residents are pushing back.
On July 8, the county planning commission endorsed a two-year freeze, recommending that it should also cover DCIP Group’s pending proposal. The debate isn’t cooling off; if anything, it’s just warming up.
Click here for more information and updates from the Sarasota County government.
This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee, and Desoto counties.
