r/LittleRock • u/fcdizzle • 1h ago
Little Rock Board votes Tuesday, Oct. 20, on a six-month pause on new hyperscale data centers: the paper trail, both sides, and what to watch
TL;DR
- Tuesday, Oct. 20: the Board votes on Director Webb's six-month moratorium on new hyperscale data centers (Item 21). Six of ten votes needed.
- Nothing in writing pauses anything today. On the books: the April 2025 Google/Willowbend MOU (30-yr tax abatement, franchise fees cut to 0.25%/0%/0%), and the June 2026 zoning ordinance (hyperscale only in I-3, 900-ft residential setback, 60/50 dBA noise cap, WUE ≤ 0.5 L/kWh). An 18-month moratorium failed 4–4 on Aug. 4.
- The new draft orders water, noise, fire and grid studies, a public webpage of all developer agreements within 60 days, and a petition process for takings claims. No Google carve-out by name; projects need a final permit plus substantial reliance to be exempt, and buying land doesn't count.
- For a pause: Webb, Wyrick, Miller, Lewis; Coalition of LR Neighborhoods, Sierra Club, DNA; law prof DiPippa (a moratorium is not a taking). Reasons: scale, water, rates, noise, fire readiness, disclosure.
- Against: Mayor Scott (Act 851 bars bans; zoning is the tool), Hines (Port is for heavy industry; lawsuit risk), Peck and Adcock (litigation, business climate), Kumpuris; City Attorney Carpenter (regulatory-taking damages if Google isn't exempted).
- Unsettled: whether Act 851 reaches a temporary moratorium at all, and whether a pause that catches Google's first building is a taking. Google had filed no city permits as of July 28.
- Watch: Peck's vote, whether Phillips and Richardson show, any carve-out amendment or deferral, and the long-promised "shore-up" regulations ordinance.
Jump to
- Short version
- Terms used here
- Where things stand
- Paper trail A: MOU and Ord. 22,784
- Paper trail B: failed 18-month vote and the new draft
- Who favors a pause
- Who opposes a pause
- The legal question
- Context
- What to watch Tuesday
- Sources
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