If Alachua Doesn’t Ban Data Centers, It Is Opening the Door

September 1, 2026

The City of Alachua is updating its Comprehensive Plan, and new language would allow data centers on Industrial land.

That may sound technical, but the meaning is simple: the City is creating a legal pathway for data centers.

The draft says future rules should address water, electricity, wastewater, noise, heat, buffering and other impacts. It also says data centers would need to use reclaimed water.

But compared with Sierra Club Florida’s draft data-center criteria, the City proposal leaves major gaps.

There is no clear cap on electricity use. No maximum water use. No requirement that a developer prove nearby wells, springs or the aquifer will be protected. No firm rule that the company - not residents or utility customers - must pay for infrastructure upgrades. And renewable energy is something the City says may be required, not something that must be required.

The City also proposes a 0.25 floor-area ratio, but that only limits building size compared with the property. It does not limit megawatts of electricity, cooling demand, generators or other infrastructure.

So the real question should come first:

Do we want hyperscale data centers in Alachua at all?

Florida law gives local governments authority over comprehensive planning and land-use regulation for these facilities. The City does not have to create a pathway for them.

A stronger replacement policy could simply say:

Large-scale data centers and other high-intensity data-center uses shall not be permitted in any Future Land Use category within the City of Alachua.

The City could also define a large-scale data center using clear thresholds, such as electric demand, so developers cannot avoid the rule by changing labels or dividing a project into phases.

That is why on September 8th the Planning & Zoning Board should be asked to recommend removing data centers as an allowable Industrial use.

Because once the Comprehensive Plan says they are allowed, the debate becomes about where and under what conditions.

Now is the time to decide whether they belong here at all.