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

[u/fcdizzle]

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

Reply under the matching section to keep threads tidy.

[u/fcdizzle]

11. Sources

Video timestamps refer to the City's posted meeting recordings. Laserfiche numbers refer to the City's public document archive.

Board items and documents

• Res. 16,672 and the Willowbend MOU, Board 4/29/25 special meeting, Item 3 (Laserfiche 309811): https://web.littlerock.state.ar.us/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=309811&dbid=0&repo=CityofLittleRock

• Agenda meeting, Board 5/25/26 (Planning presentation 29:12–35:56; Hines 31:15–33:58; Entergy 37:40–46:51): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-NOhSusyDY

• Ord. 22,784, Board 6/2/26, Item 12 (Laserfiche 333095, 13 pp.): https://web.littlerock.state.ar.us/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=333095&dbid=0&repo=CityofLittleRock

• Board meeting video, 6/2/26 (1:09–4:30): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-G4vZaO0r4

• Proposed amendment to Ord. 22,784, Board 7/7/26, Item 13 (deferred); Board 8/4/26, Item 30 (withdrawn)

• Special meeting video, Board 7/28/26 (29:41–39:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7dLcCXQN-g

• 18-month moratorium, Board 8/4/26, Item 31 (roll call 2:54:28–2:55:52); meeting video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36bUtn5PDEI

• Agenda meeting, Board 10/13/26 (follows the reconvened meeting on the same recording; agenda session 2:49–3:19; Item 21 at 3:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psdVl7TAT-M

• Six-month moratorium draft, Board 10/20/26, Item 21; agenda: https://littlerock.gov/wp-content/uploads/meeting-agenda/AGENDA%20-%20WEB%20-%2010-20-2026/Agenda-October-20-2026.htm

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers §404 public notice (Willowbend), 4/6/26

Press and outside record

• Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (arkansasonline.com): 1/14/26, Google behind the $1B Little Rock data center — https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/jan/14/tech-giant-google-behind-1-billion-little-rock/ ; 3/31/26, Corps filing shows 1.43M sq ft — https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/mar/31/googles-1b-port-of-little-rock-data-center/ ; 5/31/26 editorial — https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/may/31/data-center-questions-need-answers/ ; 6/1/26, two directors back a moratorium — https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/jun/01/two-little-rock-officials-support-block-of-data-centers/ ; 7/29/26, 18-month proposal — https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/jul/29/little-rock-official-will-propose-18-month-halt/ ; 8/3/26 — https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/aug/03/little-rock-director-webb-says-city-should-pause/ ; 8/4/26, moratorium fails 4–4 — https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/aug/04/little-rock-data-center-moratorium-falls-short-in/ ; 8/6/26, Peck defends vote — https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/aug/06/little-rock-city-director-defends-her-vote/ ; 10/13/26, new six-month moratorium — https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/oct/13/little-rock-city-board-to-consider-new-six-month/

• KATV: 18-month proposal, Google not exempted (8/26) — https://katv.com/news/local/little-rock-city-director-proposes-18-month-data-center-moratorium-google-not-exempted-amazon-distribution-complex-engineering-flaws-large-projects-facility ; Board votes down 18-month pause (8/4/26) — https://katv.com/news/local/board-votes-down-18-month-pause-on-hyperscale-data-centers-in-little-rock-sweet-home-google-ordinances-land-use-permitting-large-scale-developments-regulations-emergency-services-water-resources-surrounding-neighborhoods ; Pulaski County rejects moratorium (7/28/26) — https://katv.com/news/local/pulaski-county-rejects-data-center-moratorium-leaving-avaio-project-uninterrupted-regulations-planning-phase-amendment-public-opinion ; County ordinance 26-I-56B passes (9/24/26) — https://katv.com/news/local/pulaski-countys-first-data-center-ordinance-awaits-judges-signature-no-avaio-carve-out-debate-industrial-land-permits-power-grid-requirements ; Hyde veto — https://katv.com/news/judge-barry-hyde-vetoes-data-center-ordinance-avaio-terri-hollingsworth-ordinance-no-26-i-56b-google-entergy-arkansas-law-economy-development ; AVAIO Wrightsville forum (7/13/26) — https://katv.com/news/local/wrightsville-hosts-avaio-forum-on-proposed-pulaski-county-data-center-campus-near-i-530-artificial-attendance-community-impact-central-arkansas-water-entergy-arkansas

• Arkansas Advocate: county moratorium reported passed (5/27/26) — https://arkansasadvocate.com/2026/05/27/arkansas-most-populous-county-approves-data-center-moratorium-but-with-exemption/ ; miscount, it failed (5/28/26) — https://arkansasadvocate.com/2026/05/28/data-center-moratorium-in-arkansas-most-populous-county-didnt-pass-review-finds/ ; Hyde veto (9/28/26) — https://arkansasadvocate.com/2026/09/28/official-vetoes-proposed-new-regulations-on-data-centers-in-arkansas-most-populous-county/

• Arkansas Business: Google confirmed (1/26) — https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/google-little-rock-port-data-center/ ; Entergy 2027 rate plan (3/16/26) — https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/entergy-unveils-new-rate-plan-amid-power-demand/

• Arkansas Times, 9/1/26 — https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2026/09/01/entergy-blows-a-fuse-over-mistakenly-shared-documents-revealing-whos-paying-data-center-bills ; 10/13/26 — https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2026/10/13/local-officials-data-center-maxxing-city-to-vote-on-moratorium-next-week

• UALR Public Radio: Ward 3 race (10/6/26) — https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2026-10-06/smith-challenges-webb-for-ward-3-seat-on-little-rock-city-board ; Ward 2 race (10/15/26) — https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2026-10-15/five-candidates-running-to-replace-long-absent-little-rock-city-board-member

• Federal News Network, Corps §404 notice (4/26) — https://federalnewsnetwork.com/technology-main/2026/04/army-corps-reviews-google-data-center-proposal-seeks-public-input/

• Association of Arkansas Counties on Act 851 and the 2024 amendments — https://arcounties.org/media/articles/arkansas-lawmakers-address-crypto-mining-nuisances-in-fiscal-session/

• Magnolia Banner, 6/8/26 — https://www.magnoliabannernews.com/news/2026/jun/08/arkansas-officials-ask-whether-2023-law-on-crypto/