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Last Update: 09/22/2026 at 11:34 PM EST
Indianapolis Puts Data Centers On Hold
Coverage from Indianapolis Star, Mirror Indy, and others
Indianapolis is moving from public debate over data center impacts to formal restrictions, including a special zoning district, tighter noise and setback standards, reporting requirements, and a moratorium on new approvals through December 31, 2027.
The measures respond to sustained neighborhood opposition and concerns about noise, water use, electricity demand, land use, and community impacts. Previously approved projects may remain exempt, while officials develop longer-term standards and review pending proposals.
Looking Back
107 Day Timeline
May 6
May 27
Jun 20
Jul 11
Aug 1
Aug 25
Sep 15
History
09/08/2026
The current version largely confirms the previous account: the moratorium and proposed zoning restrictions remain the central developments, with no materially new decision, actor, or outcome.
08/24/2026
Indianapolis has moved from debating restrictions to approving a moratorium through 2027 while advancing materially stricter data-center standards. Exemptions for previously approved projects and a deferred tax-abatement hearing limit the pause’s immediate reach.
All Articles46 articles
Important
Jacob Stewart criticized Indianapolis planned a data center moratorium, saying special-use zoning would better provide elected accountability, clearer approval standards, and community influence.
7/13/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis city-county councilors voted Aug. 10 to impose a data-center moratorium through 2027, pending Metropolitan Development Commission approval.
8/11/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
The Indianapolis City-County Council is scheduled to vote August 10 on a proposed moratorium covering new data centers in Indianapolis.
8/8/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
DC Blox received Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approval on July 15, 2026, to build a two-building campus at Thunderbird Commerce Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
7/20/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Bloomington, Illinois officials scheduled an Aug. 26 public hearing to develop hyperscale data center rules after a six-month moratorium, amid POWER Act uncertainty at the state level.
7/16/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis officials approved DC Blox's July 15, 2026 data center campus near Irvington, despite months of school-area opposition and a separate moratorium proposal.
7/15/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Bloomington, Illinois scheduled an Aug. 26 planning commission meeting on hyperscale data centers amid a six-month moratorium and upcoming draft regulations hearings.
7/14/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
In Indianapolis, a council committee advanced a moratorium on new data center approvals through Dec. 31, 2027, while DC Blox faces an upcoming variance vote.
7/14/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis City-County councilors advanced a Marion County data center construction moratorium on Aug. 10 planning for a pause ending no later than Dec. 31, 2027, after committee public comment and ordinance-definition planning.
7/13/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis City-County Council President Maggie Lewis plans a July 13 moratorium on new data center approvals as zoning regulations advance.
7/10/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis City-County Council will consider a new-data-center development moratorium next Monday after Council President Maggie Lewis proposes a zoning amendment amid community opposition.
7/10/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis City-County Council President Maggie A. Lewis proposed a temporary moratorium on new data center construction for a July 13 committee hearing.
7/10/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Maggie Lewis proposed a temporary pause on new data center approvals in Indianapolis ahead of a committee vote on a new zoning district Monday.
7/10/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
New Albany and other Southern Indiana municipalities in Clark and Floyd counties are considering data center moratoriums and zoning updates as AI demand raises concerns about power, water, and local impacts.
7/9/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
DC Blox reduced an Indianapolis East Gate data center proposal after community opposition, moving a use variance request to a July 15 Metropolitan Development Commission vote.
7/9/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis commissioners advanced a special data-center zoning district Wednesday, adding noise, water, and electricity guardrails after residents opposed a proposed moratorium.
7/1/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development will seek Marion County approval for a July 1, 2026 hearing on stricter data center zoning that increases setbacks and lowers noise.
6/26/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis City-County Council approved a May 4 resolution urging a temporary pause on new data center approvals while draft zoning rules are reviewed by June 3.
5/18/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis City-County Council scheduled public hearings on May 20 to consider SU-47 zoning and operating standards for data centers after passing a moratorium resolution.
5/15/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Metropolitan Development Commission approved DC Blox's Indianapolis east-side data center use variance on July 15, 2026, amid proposed Marion County moratorium and resident opposition.
7/15/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis residents opposed a planned DC BLOX data center at Irvington Presbyterian Church before Monday zoning framework review and a Wednesday zoning variance discussion.
7/12/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approved a data center moratorium on August 19, 2026, at the City-County Building in Indianapolis, covering new Marion County developments through 2027.
8/20/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission voted unanimously on Aug. 19, 2026, at the City-County Building to halt new Marion County data center approvals through at least Dec. 31, 2027.
8/19/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Interesting
On September 16, Indianapolis officials approved $240 million in tax breaks for Sabey Corp.'s proposed data center in Decatur Township amid protests and a citywide moratorium through 2027.
9/17/2026 • Project Finance & Incentives • General
Clarksville Town Council approved zoning ordinances in Indiana that define data centers and prohibit them in all zoning districts.
7/15/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis City-County Council committee advanced a proposal to pause new data center development in Indianapolis, Indiana, with Mayor Joe Hogsett involved in discussion.
7/14/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Maggie Lewis proposed a temporary pause on new data center developments in Indianapolis during a scheduled zoning rules committee hearing at the City-County Building.
7/12/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Maggie Lewis announced a Monday Marion County moratorium on new data center approvals in Indianapolis while data center zoning rules are reviewed.
7/10/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Huntington, Indiana officials held a public meeting in August 2026 to plan data-center zoning after a February moratorium delays permits.
7/8/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis city officials advanced a special zoning district for data centers on Monday’s agenda after a public meeting featuring local opposition.
7/5/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Indianapolis City Commission advanced a proposal for a special zoning district for data centers in Indianapolis, Indiana, with noise, water, and electricity requirements ahead of city council review.
7/5/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Metropolitan Development Commission in Marion County, Indiana, voted 5-3 to advance special data center zoning rules covering siting, noise limits, and annual energy and water reporting to the City-County Council.
7/1/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
DC Blox moved a variance for a proposed 420,000-square-foot data center campus at Thunderbird Commerce Center to a full vote after first approval from Indianapolis' Metropolitan Development Commission.
6/12/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
DC Blox advanced a planned three-building Indianapolis data center on June 11 after a four-hour Metropolitan Development Commission hearing amid neighbor opposition over zoning, power demand, and water use.
6/11/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
DC Blox requested a use variance at a June 11 Metropolitan Development Commission hearing in Indianapolis to build a planned data center campus near Irvington on a brownfield site.
6/11/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
DC Blox sought a use-variance approval for an east Indianapolis data center conversion, with a June 11 hearing examiner recommendation now pending Metropolitan Development Commission final approval.
6/11/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
LaPorte approved a 1,000-acre annexation and Indiana zoning bodies advanced data center siting decisions for Microsoft expansion and a proposed Eagle Creek Township rezoning.
5/23/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
DC Blox hosted a May 21, 2026 Warren Township meeting as residents opposed a $2 billion Indianapolis east-side data center, ahead of a June 11 hearing examiner review.
5/22/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approved a data center moratorium on August 19, 2026, in Indianapolis to study development impacts and revise zoning rules.
8/19/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Alex Carroll hosted an Indianapolis tour of Lifeline Data Center amid opposition to DC BLOX, detailing closed-loop cooling water use and an Indiana air-permit citation in May 2026.
6/18/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
DC Blox seeks a $2 billion Indianapolis east-side data center campus as Warren Township residents raise power, noise, water, and brownfield soil concerns ahead of a June 11 hearing.
5/22/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Michael-Paul Hart will tour a DC Blox data center in Atlanta while Indianapolis schedules a June 11 hearing on DC Blox's South Kitley Avenue proposal amid noise and moratorium concerns.
5/9/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Bloomington officials hosted a public forum on a proposed hyperscale data center, with residents opposing the project mainly over local water stress and land-use concerns.
5/6/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Indianapolis schedules an Aug. 5 MDC public hearing on $56 million tax abatements for a Metrobloks $250 million data center in Martindale Brightwood after July 15 opposition.
7/27/2026 • Project Finance & Incentives • General
Indianapolis officials delayed a Metropolitan Development Commission hearing on Wednesday over a proposed $56 million Metrobloks data center tax break in Brightwood Martindale.
8/4/2026 • Project Finance & Incentives • General
Additional
DC Blox scaled back the Thunderbird Commerce Center data center campus in Indianapolis after resident feedback and power consumption scrutiny, filing a revised plan on March 19.
7/8/2026 • Infrastructure & Site Development • General