TULSA, Okla — Tulsa City Council heard a proposed ordinance March 11 that would place a 365-day moratorium on agreements to building new data centers in city limits. Councilor Laura Bellis wrote up the proposal.
"We might never get a full picture or enough information because things in this industry are changing so fast, which is part of why I think it's important for us to take a proactive pause," Councilor Bellis told 2 News before the council meeting.
WATCH: Tulsa City Council to consider data center moratorium
In east Tulsa, phase one of Project Anthem is already underway, right across the street from Bob Townsend.
"I bought this property in May of last year, but I knew that that had already been approved to go in," Townsend said.
Many of the homeowners in the neighborhood didn't want to speak on camera but say they're against the facility going up. Townsend is trying to keep a level head.
"I don't want to just stop them, but I think it needs to stop long enough for the consumer to get the education that they need to understand what's the long-term impact economically," Townsend said. "Both to them and the water."
Which is part of Bellis' goal in bringing the moratorium forward.
"This is going to keep evolving and shifting, and if we keep waiting for things to settle and us to magically know so much more, that may not happen," Bellis said.
The ordinance wouldn't stop phase one of Project Anthem, but could put a pause on a potential phase two just west of the current site.
"There's no way I would support a second one right here within a mile range of this," Townsend said. "That just doesn't make any sense."
That reasoning why Townsend says he supports a pause.
"I don't want to stand in the way of progress," Townsend said. "Things are going this way. But I believe it kind of needs to slow down a little bit."
The ordinance comes at the same time as the Cherokee Nation's recently developed data center task force. Bellis says they hope to use research from that group to help make decisions in the future, should the moratorium pass.
Tulsa City Council already voted unanimously at its Feb. 11 meeting to direct the planning office to reevaluate zoning regulations when dealing with data centers. But a moratorium would that further.
- Previous coverage>>> A SECOND LOOK: Council directs Tulsa planning office to re-evaluate data center zoning
Councilor Bellis told 2 News after the March 11 meeting not every colleague is on board with the proposed moratorium but welcomes public input before the ordinance gets voted in the March 25 council meeting.
"I think when you see something cut across party lines, urban and rural, when you have farmers who are being offered sometimes 30 times their land value turning down those offers because data centers are trying to go in, I think you have to listen," she said.
For complete coverage of data centers in Green Country, click HERE.
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