Oklahoma first · OKC City Hall

FACTS FIRST

OKC desk. Documents, then the fence.

Updated as of Nov 10, 2026 (CT)

Nov 10, 2026 · evening CT Oklahoma City, Okla.
Posted Nov 10, 2026

← OKC Home · OKC City Hall · Housing strategy

OKC Council Extends Data-Center Moratorium Through the End of 2027

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 10, unanimously approved an ordinance extending a temporary moratorium on new data centers inside the city limits through Dec. 31, 2027. The extension takes effect immediately, the city said.

What the extension covers

The city's Nov. 10 news release says the moratorium suspends the acceptance of new applications, rezoning requests and permits for the construction or expansion of large-scale data centers with electrical loads exceeding 75 megawatts.

City officials said they are using the additional time to evaluate how data centers should be regulated through the city's zoning code. The moratorium may be lifted before Dec. 31, 2027, if the council approves zoning-code amendments for data centers before that date.

“City staff will be researching best practices and working with a consultant and community stakeholders to update the zoning code, including the creation of a specific use unit for data centers,” Planning Director Geoff Butler said in the city's release. “Extending the temporary moratorium will give City Council time to evaluate the full scope of the potential impacts and determine appropriate regulations.”

How the pause started

The council first approved a temporary moratorium on April 21, 2026, also unanimously. That ordinance was set to run through Dec. 31, 2026, or earlier if zoning amendments were approved. It halted the acceptance of new applications and the processing and issuance of rezoning requests and permits related to the construction or expansion of data centers. The April ordinance specifically exempted two pending rezoning cases.

A city manager memo prepared for the April 21 agenda said the zoning code did not then have a specific use unit or regulations identified for data centers, and that potential effects to be studied included water use, electrical use, noise and infrastructure.

City Manager Craig Freeman said at the time, in the city's April 21 release: “The temporary pause on new data centers will give the City more time to understand how they affect our community's resources such as energy use, water demand and land use.”

What else was reported

The Oklahoman, in a Nov. 10 story posted at 12:40 p.m. CT, also reported the unanimous vote, including Mayor David Holt. The newspaper reported that the city has since moved the two previously exempted properties forward, “including the approval of the city's first mega-data center with strict zoning terms last month.” Facts First has not independently confirmed that later approval from city records for this update.

The Oklahoman also quoted Freeman as saying, “We just want to get this right for the community,” and reported that Freeman and Holt said the ordinance remains in effect until the stated date or until the zoning code is updated, whichever comes first. That timing matches the city's Nov. 10 release.

The fence Facts First has not reviewed the full text of the Nov. 10 ordinance or a recorded roll-call beyond the city's description of a unanimous vote. The 75-megawatt threshold appears in the city's Nov. 10 release; the April 21 release and memo did not state that threshold. The Oklahoman's report that the city last month approved its first mega-data center has not been independently confirmed here.