Palm Coast city leaders are edging toward a timeout on new data centers, signaling Tuesday that they want to pause approvals while they rework local land-use rules. The move would put the city in step with Flagler County, which is already exploring a temporary halt to permits, and casts the issue as a balancing act over water, power and neighborhood character rather than a straightforward economic development play.
At a June 2 meeting, Councilmember Ty Miller asked staff to spell out clear thresholds separating smaller cable-landing or colocation facilities from the massive "hyperscale" centers that have residents on edge. Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri pushed for a council letter backing Flagler County’s proposed moratorium, while Councilmember Charles Gambaro warned that hitting the brakes could choke off economic development, according to Palm Coast Observer. By the end of the discussion, the council had directed staff to study definitions, thresholds and possible code language for data centers.
Commissioner Andy Dance has urged the county to consider a one-year pause while officials rewrite land-use rules, and Flagler County leaders agreed in mid-May to study such an ordinance, according to FlaglerLive. Dance told officials the region is already fielding inquiries about data centers and argued that a pause would provide time to "calmly and thoughtfully evaluate" existing policies. County Attorney Michael Rodriguez said a proposed ordinance could be ready for the commission by mid-June, but cautioned that it must be framed to avoid conflicts with private-property rights.
What's Being Built In Town Center
The Town Center project already under construction is a roughly 35,000-square-foot cable-landing station on about seven acres that the developer says will handle up to six subsea cables, draw roughly 10 megawatts of power and employ about 15 people, according to PalmCoast321. In a 2025 announcement, the county said DC BLOX is partnering with Google on a transatlantic cable system that will land at Flagler Beach and connect to the Palm Coast facility, a project framed as a step toward greater regional connectivity, per a county news release from Flagler County.
Why Neighbors Are Worried
Residents and some council members say that even a relatively modest cable station can strain local utilities and change the feel of nearby neighborhoods, and they want clearer rules in place before more facilities are approved. Palm Coast does not levy a utility franchise fee or an electric utility tax, so a heavy power user would not necessarily generate extra local revenue to offset impacts on the grid or water system. There are also no other data-center applications pending in Flagler County, making any moratorium largely preventive, according to FlaglerLive.
What Comes Next
Council members told staff to draft definitions and thresholds that could treat "high-impact" centers as special exceptions while allowing smaller facilities by right, according to meeting notes reported by Palm Coast Observer. If the county adopts a 12-month pause, officials say they would use the time to study infrastructure, environmental and zoning impacts, similar to steps taken in nearby counties. Nassau County, for example, created a fact-finding committee on data centers this week, per News4JAX.
Whether that pause becomes firm policy will depend on how quickly staff can draft precise standards and how commissioners weigh the desire for immediate certainty against a more expansive long-term framework. The debate in Palm Coast mirrors a national conversation over how to balance the growing demand for digital infrastructure with concerns about community impacts and environmental costs.
