When data center development is put on hold, community engagement shouldn’t be. Developers who use the time to build relationships, address concerns, and work with local officials can turn a setback into an opportunity.
By Adam Waitkunas
When a community imposes a moratorium on data center development, many developers’ instinct is to put everything on hold, keep a low profile, and wait for the restrictions to expire. Others may turn immediately to legal action. While there may be legitimate reasons to challenge a moratorium, neither approach should come at the expense of community engagement.
In fact, a moratorium can provide developers with something they often don’t have enough of: time to build relationships, understand community concerns, and establish credibility before the next round of approvals.
Whether the moratorium lasts six, 12, or 18 months, the question is whether developers use that time productively or simply wait for the clock to run out.
Don’t Disappear. Get to Know the Community
If a community has reached the point of imposing a moratorium, there’s a good chance residents and local officials have concerns about data center development. Those concerns may involve electricity rates, water consumption, noise, environmental impacts, tax incentives, or simply the feeling that development is moving too quickly without sufficient public input. And those concerns aren’t going to disappear just because several months have passed.
Instead of retreating, developers should use the time to get to know the people who will ultimately live alongside their projects. That means meeting with local elected officials, adjacent property owners, neighborhood groups, school board members, school administrators, fire chiefs, police departments, and other community stakeholders. It means hosting informational meetings, listening to residents, and being available to answer difficult questions. Importantly, it means doing this before another zoning hearing or approval deadline is looming. Developers also need to look beyond the loudest voices at public meetings. Many residents have legitimate questions but aren’t attending every hearing or posting on social media. Their perspectives matter, too. The objective shouldn’t be to convince everyone to support a project. It should be to demonstrate that the developer is listening, taking concerns seriously, and willing to make changes when warranted.
Don’t Let the Information Vacuum Fill Itself
Moratoriums also provide an opportunity to improve public understanding of what’s actually being proposed.
Too often, residents hear the words “data center” and immediately associate a proposed project with the largest facilities making national headlines. Yet data centers vary significantly in size, design, power requirements, cooling technologies, and potential community impacts. Developers should use this time to explain their specific projects rather than allowing assumptions and misinformation to shape the conversation.
That might mean hosting neighborhood meetings, providing clear information about electricity and water use, discussing noise mitigation, or explaining anticipated tax revenues, jobs, and infrastructure requirements.
It also means acknowledging what isn’t yet known rather than making promises that can’t be substantiated. In some communities, local media relations can play an important role. Providing reporters with accurate information, making project representatives available for interviews, and responding to legitimate questions can help establish a more informed public discussion.
There’s an important distinction between communication and promotion. Community engagement isn’t about talking residents into accepting a project. It’s about listening, responding, and giving the community a meaningful opportunity to influence what ultimately gets built.
Start Building the Foundation for a Community Benefit Agreement
A moratorium also presents an opportunity to begin laying the groundwork for a meaningful Community Benefit Agreement (CBA). Rather than arriving with a predetermined list of benefits, developers can use this time to take the community’s pulse and better understand what residents actually want and need.
That might include investments in schools, workforce development, public safety, infrastructure improvements, or support for local organizations. But those priorities will vary from community to community, which is why listening needs to come first.
Conversations with neighbors, school officials, first responders, community organizations, and local leaders can help identify priorities that ultimately shape a CBA reflecting the community’s needs.
Help Shape the Rules Rather Than Waiting for Them
Another opportunity developers often overlook is the role they can play as communities develop new data center regulations. Many moratoriums are intended to give local governments time to evaluate existing zoning requirements, study potential impacts, and consider ordinances governing future development. Rather than waiting for those regulations to emerge, developers should participate constructively in the process.
That could include providing technical information about facility operations, helping officials understand power and cooling requirements, discussing reasonable noise and setback standards, or sharing examples of regulatory approaches used elsewhere.
This isn’t about developers writing their own rules or expecting special treatment. Communities have every right to establish appropriate safeguards. But there is value in having informed conversations about regulations that protect residents while also reflecting the technical realities of data center development.
Of course, zoning authority, moratorium procedures, and development regulations vary by state and municipality. Developers should work with local officials and legal counsel to understand what is permitted and how they can appropriately participate in the public process.
Could Engagement Help Shorten a Moratorium?
Potentially. And that’s another reason developers shouldn’t sit on the sidelines.
A moratorium is often imposed because local officials believe they need additional time to evaluate impacts, address public concerns, or establish appropriate regulations.
If developers use that period to provide credible information, engage residents, respond to concerns, and work cooperatively with local officials, they may help address some of the underlying issues that prompted the moratorium. In certain circumstances, that could contribute to discussions about modifying or shortening restrictions, or establishing a more tailored regulatory approach, where legally permitted.
There are no guarantees, and shortening a moratorium shouldn’t be the primary objective of community engagement. But developers who demonstrate a genuine commitment to working with the community are likely to be better positioned for constructive discussions than those who have remained absent.
Don’t Come Charging Back Into Town
Here’s where developers can make a particularly costly mistake.
They assume that once a moratorium expires, they can pick up where they left off. Not necessarily. A developer that disappears for a year and then returns with a renewed push for approvals shouldn’t expect residents to suddenly embrace the project. The same concerns that existed before the moratorium may still be there. In some cases, they may have intensified, especially if residents believe the developer spent the intervening months simply waiting for an opportunity to move forward.
And if those concerns remain unresolved, local officials may face renewed pressure to extend the moratorium or adopt additional restrictions. That’s why the relationships established during this period are so important.
A developer that has spent months meeting with neighbors, listening to school officials, engaging public safety departments, answering questions, and incorporating community feedback is in a very different position than one that has remained silent. That doesn’t guarantee approval. But it creates a foundation for more productive conversations when the development process resumes.
The Clock Is Ticking. Make the Time Count.
The data center industry is facing a significant trust deficit in communities across the country, and moratoriums are one manifestation of that broader challenge. Developers understandably see them as obstacles. But they should also recognize the opportunity.
A moratorium provides time to get to know a community, build relationships, address concerns, begin shaping a resident-driven Community Benefit Agreement, contribute to thoughtful regulations, and demonstrate a commitment to being a responsible long-term neighbor.
And while legal strategies, permitting considerations, and development schedules will continue to play important roles, none of them can substitute for community trust.
