Reno City Council extends data center moratorium, promises effort is not political

Reno City Council voted to keep a temporary data center moratorium in place and vowed to adopt new regulations sometime next year.

The moratorium, approved Monday, will remain in place until Aug. 31, 2027, or until the city adopts new data center regulations. 

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Opposition to data centers has been growing across Nevada and the country, with similar efforts underway in Boulder City and Nye County. But Reno City Council’s vote this week drew some criticism of being politically motivated. Two council members are candidates in a competitive nine-way mayoral primary that may be decided on election day next week.

“I suppose the cynic in most people is that somehow all this is political, and that just after the election we’d all race and change it back,” said Councilmember Devon Reese, who is running for Reno mayor and asked for the moratorium vote.

“That’s not what the community is looking for. They’re looking for certainty. I think this is the right time to be having this conversation, regardless of when elections or election cycles happen,” he continued.

The extension to halt the acceptance, processing and approval of new data center applications passed on a 6-1 vote, with only Councilmember Kathleen Taylor voting ‘no.’ Taylor also voted against the temporary moratorium in May when the city council first approved a 30-day data center pause. 

Taylor, who is also running for Reno mayor, said her opposition to a moratorium does not impact her support of comprehensive regulations on data centers.

“I am all in favor of water usage that is responsible and energy that does not put any strain on the rate payer,” Taylor said. “I will support every single regulation that is brought to us to protect our resources, and I will be consistent in my decision to not support a moratorium.”

The council voted unanimously on a separate motion to start the process that will establish regulations specific to data center permitting. Currently, data centers apply for a conditional use permit and are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Council members said the moratorium would allow them to determine what strain the large-scale facilities might put on utilities and city resources, including energy use, water consumption, noise impacts and air quality.

Existing data centers and those now being built will not be affected by the vote, including the recently approved Oppidan Data Center and the Keystone Data Center.

Reese asked the city council to extend the moratorium past the end of the year to allow more time for public engagement as officials move to establish new comprehensive regulations at the city and regional level.

“At this moment we have an obligation to make sure that the process is the most robust one that we can,” Reese said. “I just know that in the planning universe and in the government universe it will take time.”

In April, Reese announced on social media that he would ask the city council to consider a data center moratorium. Before that, Reese said publicly that he was in favor of a more regional approach to data center regulations and did not support a citywide moratorium, but acknowledged that regional planning has not materialized. 

“We’ve been working toward a regional approach, and while there’s been good progress, we’re not there yet,” Reese said.

The extended timeline would also run through the Nevada Legislative session next year, which could potentially enact statewide regulations related to data centers. 

Councilmember Meghan Ebert, who is running for reelection, pushed the council to tie any moratorium deadline to the adoption of comprehensive regulations to ensure the pause does not end without action on data centers. 

“My community does not have trust that this body will follow through on any promises. So I need to have something in code, and I need to show my community that they will be protected, and that this isn’t a political stunt,” Ebert said.

Ebert said there is a perception in her ward that the moratorium is politically motivated, referring to Reese’s position change and the competitive mayoral race.

“I appreciate the 180, but I’m concerned,” Ebert said. “The person that proclaimed that we were going to do a moratorium is running for citywide election and my community does not feel like they have had a voice.”

“It might just be an unfortunate coincidence, but I know for my ward perception is reality, and the perception is this is a campaign tactic,” Ebert said. 

Last year, a handful of data centers were approved by the Reno Planning Commission and the Reno City Council, despite growing backlash.

In January 2025, the Reno City Council upheld the Reno Planning Commission’s decision to grant a conditional use permit for the Webb Data Center in the North Valleys. 

The following month, in February, the Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council impose a moratorium on data centers until members could fully understand their effects. 

In response, the Reno City Council considered imposing minimum standards on data centers. But Mayor Hillary Schieve and council members Taylor and Brandi Anderson voted against creating data center standards. Reese was absent and did not vote.

A month later in March, the city council voted to approve the Oppidan Data Center under a conditional use permit.

Reese said his motion to extend the moratorium by more than a year is not a delay tactic to avoid permanent dedicated regulations for data centers, but is needed to create comprehensive data center regulations.

Councilmember Naomi Duerr and Mayor Schieve echoed those points, emphasizing the need for comprehensive regulations that touch on every aspect of public concern. 

Both Schieve and Duerr are termed out and will leave their seats following the November general election.

“I don’t want to adopt a regulation that just touches really minimal issues. I want it as comprehensive as possible,” Duerr said. 

“I don’t want to see us rush through making some of these decisions. These things take a long time, and so I think that we have to do it really, really thoughtfully,” Schieve said. “We also have to address how we are going to deal with the existing ones. We’re going to have to deal with that.”