Oregon City Imposes Moratorium on Data Centers and Battery Storage

Oregon City officials voted Wednesday night to pause all new data center and battery energy storage system development, joining a growing list of municipalities attempting to catch up with the rapid infrastructure demands of the digital economy. The 120-day moratorium, as reported by KATU, bars new applications across five industrial and mixed-use zones while city staff conduct a comprehensive audit of current land-use codes.

Proactive Zoning in Oregon City

While the city has not received any active applications or formal inquiries from developers, the decision reflects a desire to avoid the reactive posture seen in neighboring jurisdictions. Mayor-elect Adam Marl, currently serving as a city commissioner, emphasized that the city’s existing regulations are simply not equipped to handle the specific requirements of large-scale server farms.

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I think it could be easily seen for a data center to come in and provide the money to those property owners to get that large piece of property unified for something like a data center, and so I wanted to make sure that instead of being reactive like we’ve seen a lot of other cities who have been having to deal with this, I wanted us to be proactive in our approach to make sure that we have the regulations in place to protect our community.

Marl noted that under current city code, a data center proposal could potentially move forward without any formal mechanism for public input. By freezing development for four months, the city intends to draft new rules that explicitly contemplate the existence and impact of these facilities.

Regional Regulatory Shifts

This local action follows a broader trend within the region. Clackamas County implemented its own 120-day moratorium on data center development on October 22, 2026. These local efforts are occurring alongside state-level scrutiny; Tina Kotek has directed the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to withhold environmental permits for new or expanding data centers through July of next year.

The state’s caution highlights the tension between the push for high-tech infrastructure and the limited capacity of local power and water grids. With over 100 data centers already operating across Oregon, policymakers are increasingly concerned about the long-term utility demands these facilities place on local communities. For property owners in Oregon City’s industrial zones, the moratorium introduces a temporary period of uncertainty, as the city determines how to balance potential industrial investment against the need for rigorous public oversight.