- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Lakeland’s battle over data center development is reaching a boiling point, with residents demanding an outright ban rather than a one-year moratorium, a temporary pause on new projects.
City commissioners revisited the ongoing issue on June 15, but not before some pointed remarks from the public put them on the defensive. While hyperscale data centers are a hot-button topic nationwide, concerns in Lakeland have quickly escalated after a developer proposed “Project Swan” in late May.
The project would bring a 600,000-square-foot data center to 60.5 acres of undeveloped land near Old Tampa Highway and Wilkinson Road in West Lakeland. Commissioners will hold a first reading of a moratorium ordinance on July 6.
“Putting a moratorium in place allows us to pump the brakes,” said Commissioner Guy LaLonde Jr. “Pumping the brakes on this will allow us to gather all information, and I mean all information. No one is getting money in their back pockets.”
LaLonde was responding to comments from the few constituents who attended the Monday morning meeting and spoke in opposition to the project and moratorium. “I take it personal,” he said. “Sometimes I just have enough.”
Residents have voiced heavy concerns about severe water and energy consumption, noise pollution, and environmental impacts. Community activist Jaxson Samples called the facilities - increasingly needed to support the explosive growth of modern cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and data harvesting - surveillance centers.
Samples, speaking during the meeting’s open forum, noted that the moratorium is a temporary pause that allows officials time to review, plan, or resolve issues before resuming an activity. “We want to ban data centers from coming to Lakeland. Period,” he said.
“A moratorium creates a loophole for the developers and decision makers to get an edge over the community,” Samples added. “If you are watching this, fight like hell. It’s your God-given right.”
Another resident, who said she is known in the community as “mama,” bemoaned a perceived lack of government transparency. She also believes that Senate Bill 484, which becomes law on July 1, gives local governments too much authority to approve or regulate data center projects.
The legislation requires data center operators to pay for their own utilities and not shift costs to customers. However, SB 484 does not restrict companies from signing private nondisclosure agreements with state agencies, effectively enabling firms to keep project plans under wraps for up to a year.
LaLonde said the bill “does restore the power of authority back to the city and county, but that is for your protection.” He also encouraged residents to speak at city meetings, even if he disagrees with their remarks and believes some are “bat-crap crazy.”
“We are citizens, we care,” LaLonde said of commissioners. “No one up here is getting rich, I can promise you that.”
Commissioner Ashley Troutman noted that the discussions surrounding hyperscale data centers are complex. He said stakeholders are all “trying to figure out how to figure it out.”
A one-year moratorium, which requires the commission’s approval, will provide officials with much-needed time to understand and address the issues, Troutman said. “Just know that it’s a lot more layered than the word ‘data center.’”
“There’s layers to the different types of data centers,” Troutman added. “There’s already data centers in Lakeland that are operating.”
He also noted that officials rely on the same resources as their constituents. “We are all in the same boat together, we are all learning together,” Troutman concluded.
Commissioner Mike Musick said he has received “hundreds and hundreds” of emails since Kimley-Horn submitted the proposal for Project Swan. The engineering consultancy firm subsequently canceled a development review meeting scheduled for June 3 after receiving 15 initial comments for review from city staff.
Lakeland will hold a second and final public hearing on a hyperscale data center moratorium, followed by a commission vote, on July 20. Mayor Sara Roberts McCarley noted the city - and the state - lack established regulatory guidelines.
“We’re doing our very, very best,” she said.
The issue is not unique to Lakeland. Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Leon, and Nassau Counties, and the City of Zephyrhills, are either advancing or considering data center moratoriums to stall proposals.
Musick said he encourages feedback on hot-button topics. He also noted that it “does feel like accusations are being tossed about and fingers are being pointed, and it does hurt, for the lack of a better term.”
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