Portland data center NDA and moratorium resolution
A Portland council resolution urging the city administrator not to enter NDAs with data center builders, amended to state intent to pursue a moratorium or zoning restriction on hyperscale data centers.
The council voted unanimously Wednesday to urge city administrators not to sign nondisclosure agreements with prospective data center developers and to explore a moratorium on new data centers in the city limits. The resolution was introduced by Councilors Tiffany Koyama Lane and Mitch Green.
The adopted resolution also requests council notification for any data-center project with a current or projected power draw of 20 megawatts or greater.
KPTV reported the council will vote Wednesday on a resolution directing city officials to refuse non-disclosure agreements over potential data center projects and requiring staff to alert councilors when a company seeks a preliminary meeting or permit for a facility drawing 20 megawatts or more; the resolution is on the September 16 council agenda. It is sponsored by Councilors Koyama Lane, Green, Avalos, Pirtle-Guiney, and Kanal; city documents accompanying it say data centers consume 5.6% of Oregon's electricity, and Portland hosts 17 smaller data centers with no hyperscale facilities.
Hillsboro's city council enacted a 120-day moratorium on new data center developments earlier this summer.
The Housing and Permitting Committee voted 4–0 to advance a resolution introduced by Councilors Angelita Morillo, Tiffany Koyama Lane and Mitch Green urging City Administrator Raymond C. Lee III not to enter nondisclosure agreements with data center builders. Koyama Lane submitted an amendment stating that the council "intends to pursue moratorium or zoning restriction on all hyperscale data centers at the earliest time and to consider additional approaches for large-load data centers." The resolution does not ban data centers or legally prohibit NDAs; the item was added to the September 9 council agenda.
Six Democratic state legislators proposed a statewide three-year moratorium on large-scale data centers in August, with the bill to be introduced in 2027.