CACHE COUNTY – At their regular meeting on June 23, the members of the Cache County Council wisely voted to preempt any public concern by establishing a temporary moratorium on any proposed data centers in unincorporated areas of Cache Valley.
With the vocal outrage in nearby Box Elder County fresh in their minds, the vote to approve Ordinance 2026-32 was unanimous with minimal discussion.
While Council Chair Sandi Goodlander acknowledged that the county government has not been approached by any potential developer of a utility scale data center, the ordinance states that the county council finds there is a sudden and compelling public interest in protecting local electrical grid capacity, water resources and zoning integrity from immediate and intensive demands associated with such developments.
The county’s support staff has determined that the current provisions of the county code governing land use and associated developments do not contain adequate definitions, development standards, zoning regulations or overlay districts to adequately manage or mitigate the rapid deployment of utility-scale digital infrastructure, according to Brian Abbot, the director of county development services.
The 180-day moratorium authorized by Ordinance 2026-32 is intended to provide a reasonable period for county officials to enact temporary land use regulations for any part or the whole of the county’s unincorporated area, he added.
Prior to the council vote, member David Erickson emphasized that the moratorium applies only to the county’s unincorporated areas.
“Municipalities here can do what they want,” he said.
Members of the Logan Municipal Council are, however, slated to meet on June 30 to consider imposing a similar moratorium.
The issued of data centers has become a political lightning rod in Utah since May, when Box Elder County Commissioners voted to green light the Stratos Project in the remote Hansel Valley despite public concerns about water usage, unchecked growth and environmental impacts.
In response to what many Box Elder resident considered a violation of public trust, GOP voters in the June 23 appeared to clean house, unseating two commissioners who were seeking reelection and the county sheriff to demonstrate their opposition to the proposed data center.
Nor has that opposition been limited to local primary voting. In Davis County, primary voters have issued a stinging rebuke to Senate President Stuart Adams (R-Layton) over his role in bringing about the data center brouhaha.
After more than 20 years in the Utah Legislature without ever facing GOP primary opposition, Adams was forced to concede to challenger Stephanie Hollist on election night, when he fell behind in the ballot count in the Senate District 7 race.
Long recognized that the most powerful man in the Utah Senate, Adams also serves as the chair of the Military Installation Development Authority, an independent, state-level governmental authority in Utah that has been pushing the Stratos Project.
Running on water issues and a demand for greater transparency on data center development, Hollist tarred Adams as the architect of laws that let data centers like the Stratos Project bypass local zoning, permitting and public comment.