St. Johns County commissioners unanimously approved a temporary ban on new medium- and large-scale data center projects at their Nov. 3 meeting.

The moratorium covers the acceptance, processing and approval of development applications for those projects, according to the Jax Daily Record. It takes effect Nov. 15 and is scheduled to expire Oct. 31, 2027, unless the county adopts permanent regulations or repeals the ordinance sooner.

The county's Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code do not contain specific standards for data center development, Deputy County Attorney Kealey West told commissioners at an Oct. 6 presentation, the Jax Daily Record reported. The review will examine electricity demand, water consumption, cooling systems, infrastructure needs, environmental impacts and compatibility with surrounding properties.

St. Johns County is the second Northeast Florida county to adopt such a moratorium. Nassau County approved its own temporary pause on data center applications June 8, the Jax Daily Record reported.

State law limits how far local governments can go. West said the county can establish a temporary moratorium for planning purposes but cannot impose a permanent ban on data center development, according to the Jax Daily Record.

Race Track Road corridor

Commissioners also heard three linked applications along the Race Track Road corridor in District 5, according to the meeting agenda.

The Bartram Park Development of Regional Impact (DRI) modification would add 42.3 acres on the south side of Race Track Road, between East Peyton Parkway and State Road 9B, to the existing DRI boundary. The proposal would increase maximum commercial square footage to 500,000 square feet and convert 20,000 square feet of commercial entitlements to 169 residential units, raising the total from 646 to 815 units.

The companion Bartram Grove applications would change the future land use of the same 42.3-acre parcel at 5404 Race Track Road from Intensive Commercial to Mixed Use District. The plan calls for 90 single-family homes, 90 multifamily units and up to 50,000 square feet of commercial and office space. The site previously was approved for 175,000 square feet of recreational uses and 125,000 square feet of commercial uses under a 2017 ordinance.

The county's Planning and Zoning Agency unanimously recommended approval of all three items, 7-0, at its Oct. 15 hearing. At the Nov. 3 commission meeting, no members of the public spoke on the items, and commissioners made motions to approve all three, according to the meeting video.

The applicant's representative, Casey Dendor, told commissioners the project would preserve 33% of the site as wetlands and retain a specimen oak tree around which the parcel was designed.

Inman Road warehouse denied

In a separate action, commissioners voted 4-1 to deny a major modification to the Last Mile Distribution Facility planned unit development on Inman Road in northern St. Johns County, the Jax Daily Record reported. Commissioner Ann Taylor made the motion to deny. Commissioner Sarah Arnold voted against the denial.

The proposal would have doubled the maximum building area from 125,000 square feet to 250,000 square feet. County staff said road segments near the site on Florida 16 were already over capacity and would reach roughly 180% of capacity when traffic from approved but unbuilt projects was counted, the Jax Daily Record reported.

The commission's next regular meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17.