San Francisco Board of Supervisors Enacts 45-Day Urgency Moratorium on New Data Center Permits Amid Grid Review

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved a 45-day interim zoning moratorium halting municipal permits for new large-scale commercial data centers across the city and county, giving urban planners and utility engineers time to establish permanent environmental and grid-capacity rules. Passed at San Francisco City Hall on Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place in October 2026, the urgency ordinance responds to a surge in high-density artificial intelligence server infrastructure proposals competing for industrial parcels and electrical substation capacity.

Under California Government Code Section 65858, an interim urgency zoning measure requires a four-fifths supermajority vote of the Board of Supervisors and takes effect immediately for 45 days, with the option for a subsequent public hearing to extend the pause for up to 10 months and 15 days while comprehensive zoning code amendments are drafted. Supervisors and Planning Department staff warned that uncoordinated siting of megawatt-scale server warehouses in Southeast San Francisco neighborhoods such as Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero Hill could strain feeder lines needed for residential electrification and municipal transit.

During the interim review window, the San Francisco Planning Department, the Department of the Environment, and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) are preparing a formal land-use and utility impact study. That analysis will evaluate mandatory clean-energy procurement standards, closed-loop cooling water conservation rules, noise attenuation buffers near housing, and strict limits on tier-4 diesel backup generators near schools and waterfront parks.

Existing enterprise server rooms, hospital computing suites, and telecommunications exchanges operating under current permits are exempt from the temporary pause. San Francisco residents, industrial property owners, and technology operators can review the interim zoning ordinance text and upcoming Land Use and Transportation Committee hearing dates at sfbos.org.