No new data centers can be built in unincorporated Snohomish County for at least six months, and residents who want a say in what comes next can testify Wednesday, Aug. 19, when the county council holds a public hearing on the emergency ordinance that imposed the freeze.

Emergency Ordinance 26-026 halts the filing, acceptance or approval of any application to establish, expand or convert property to a data center in all unincorporated zones.

The ban covers standalone facilities and data centers proposed as part of larger projects. It applies to any facility with a planned electrical load of 2 megawatts or greater.

The Snohomish County Council adopted the moratorium unanimously on June 24. Councilmember Nate Nehring, who sponsored the measure, wrote that day that the purpose was to press "pause" so the county could deliberate on permanent rules "without having to worry about these facilities being sited before any regulations have been established."

How to participate

The hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Jackson Board Room on the eighth floor of the Robert J. Drewel Building at 3000 Rockefeller Ave. in Everett. Residents can also join via Zoom (meeting ID 948-4685 0772) or by phone at 1-253-215-8782 or 1-206-337-9723.

Wednesday's hearing is not a vote. The council already approved the moratorium; the hearing satisfies a legal requirement for public testimony on the adopted measure.

Energy and environmental stakes

A single 10-megawatt data center running continuously would consume roughly 87 to 88 gigawatt-hours per year, equivalent to the electricity used by 7,800 to 8,000 homes in Snohomish County, based on Snohomish PUD residential consumption figures cited in the Lynnwood Times. Washington state already has 142 active data center facilities drawing approximately 4.2 terawatt-hours annually.

The ordinance itself states that data centers "can place untenable strain on the communities and ecosystems in which they are sited" through energy demand, water consumption for cooling and continuous low-frequency noise.

Tax revenue vs. environmental concerns

The debate isn't one-sided. In Quincy, a Grant County farming town of about 8,500 people, roughly 30 data centers shoulder an estimated 57% of the city's property taxes, according to a CNN Business report published Aug. 11. That revenue funded a $120 million high school, hospital improvements, a public library, new police and fire stations and a $15 million aquatic center. The city's levy rate has dropped about 70% since 2006.

But Councilmember Strom Peterson said at the June 24 council meeting that no data centers are currently planned for unincorporated Snohomish County. "There aren't any data centers currently planned, so this gives us an opportunity to create a framework that includes concerns from labor, concerns from [the] environmental community," Peterson said.

What's next

The freeze expires Dec. 25 unless the council renews it, which would require another public hearing and formal findings of fact. No timeline for permanent data center regulations has been announced.

Meeting details and documents are available on the county council's Legistar page.