Data center moratorium

Urged a permanent ban and cited research on electromagnetic 'electrosmog' effects on humans and environment.

Lives a mile from the proposed 100-megawatt facility and fears for his well, wildlife, dark skies, and health; begged the board to oppose it.

Palm City canal-side resident less than a mile from the site; worried about her well, electricity, and property; asked for more information for all affected neighbors.

Cited a $5 trillion AI revenue gap, questioned the 49-day delay to the first vote, and demanded disclosure of owners, lobbyists, and financial ties plus independent studies across a five-mile radius.

Friends of the Everglades policy director backed the pause, citing the region's ecological sensitivity and looming water supply stress.

Vote Water advocate urged approval, noting 11 Florida governments have banned data centers and 17 more are considering pauses; warned of $30 million in industry political spending.

Described noise and diesel-generator horror stories from Lowell, Massachusetts, and asked for the moratorium and eventually a permanent ban.

Engineer who argued data centers solve no real problem and should be banned retroactively and permanently.

Florida Club resident near Pratt Whitney and Canorr: 'It's in your hands. These things are not to be near people.'

Father of three boys living less than a mile from the site; worried about health, water, noise, electric bills and property values; called AI a 'digital prison.'

Argued hyperscale centers don't belong in Florida's heat and hurricanes and that technology obsolescence leaves taxpayers with dead buildings like Liberty Medical and Digital Domain.

Former nuclear submariner who worked at a data center; supported the moratorium to separate fact from fiction but would ultimately support a data center — and questioned the 50% budget growth versus tax increases.

Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group representative; said the moratorium buys time for proper planning rules and cited the Palm Beach 'Project Tango' expansion as a cautionary tale.

Urged strengthening the ordinance by lowering the megawatt threshold to capture more projects and warned developers will sue.

Hutchinson Island resident thanked Commissioner Campenni for the moratorium and cited the Guardians' explainer on AI data centers.

River Forest mother worried kids will lose clean drinking water; 'Get it gone. Please. Please, please, please.'

Palm City resident urged adoption, quoting the county's own findings that its code lacks data center standards.

River Marina resident directly across from the site: why Martin County? Demanded a billion-dollar surety bond guaranteeing no resident utility-bill increases and a full ban.

Listed detailed questions: independent noise studies, daily water use for 83.65 acres, enforceable buffers, and accountability if impacts exceed predictions.

Locks Landing HOA president: a mile means 'your life's going to be a living hell' — diesel generators near Crystal Lake Elementary, water draw of a 50,000-person town.

CPA and former utility rate-case auditor said data centers will drive up electric bills and monthly diesel-generator testing will pollute the air near homes and schools.

Lives 800 feet from the proposed site; 500 homes within 1.5 miles; 'I'm not asking. I'm telling. This isn't gonna happen.'

Cited animal agriculture harms near data centers and asked a commissioner to recuse over a construction-industry conflict of interest.

Young mother: 'Not all growth is progress... You cannot eat or breathe money.' Demanded independent research before decisions.

Florida Club resident with a granddaughter headed to South Fork High: 'Google why I don't want a data center near me... It's time to vote for the people.'

Engineering/construction veteran who nonetheless supports the moratorium and a ban until EPA-style standards for data centers are known.

First-time speaker from River Marina: 11-year taxpayer who chose Martin County for slow growth; asked for retroactive action and a full ban.

German immigrant of six years: 'Seeing this happening in my own backyard is not an option... a complete ban would be the best option.'

Florida Club resident asked the pointed question: why did anyone on this board think this data center was a good idea? Chair clarified no commissioner advanced the application.

20-year-old lifelong resident who lives a mile from the site and attended Crystal Lake and South Fork: 'Why would we ever risk our health for something that's not really benefiting us?'

Urged passage of the moratorium, saying two-million-square-foot hyperscale 'Goliaths' don't belong in Martin County and warning about Meta's legal firepower.

Said the US already 'won' the data center build-out with 5,000 facilities versus China's fewer than 500 — 'you cannot eat data' — and urged approval.

Sierra Club Loxahatchee chair asked that noise criteria split out low-frequency noise, that environmental impacts on wildlife be added, that MARTY be restarted and possibly reset, and that the county consider pay-as-you-throw waste pricing.

Thanked Commissioner Vargas for fixing boat-trailer blocking of the Sandsprit Park sidewalk (an ADA issue), praised the county's 73 parks, and closed with 'please pass PH 1.'

An Indiantown-area resident said five hyperscale data centers are planned within three miles of her home and asked for the moratorium so impacts on people, wildlife and farm animals can be studied.

A local activist/conservationist said constituents fear data centers out of ignorance and backed the moratorium to buy time — 'once the PUD is done, there's no turning back.'

Begged for the one-year moratorium to get facts, and backed protecting the century-old banyan and strangler fig on the Port Salerno parcel from the Deerfield Beach developer's clear-cut plans.

The Indian Riverkeeper warned data centers beget data centers, emit enormous heat, and would warm Florida waters — and said the moratorium is one of the few things counties aren't preempted from doing.

Called data centers 'the next form of reckless development' and suggested strengthening the moratorium from the 50-megawatt state definition down to 20–30 or even 5–10 megawatts.

Backed the moratorium, urged strengthening the megawatt threshold, and asked the board to follow staff's recommended denial of the agricultural enclave.

A fourth-generation local and federal candidate warned of an AI bubble and asked commissioners to consider that promised tax and job benefits could evaporate.

Followed up on the prior meeting's moratorium discussion, advocated a full ban, and cited federal pressure and 41 counties with moratoriums or bans.