Portland City Council Advances Resolution on Data Centers

The Housing and Permitting Committee will hear a resolution about non-disclosure agreements for data centers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Sept 1, 2026

Media Contact: 
Nick Caleb, Climate & Energy Attorney, Breach Collective, 541-891-6761, nick@breachcollective.org

PORTLAND, OR - At 2 PM today, Portland City Council’s Housing and Permitting Committee will hear a resolution about non-disclosure agreements for data centers. The resolution calls on the City Administrator to notify City Council if a data center requests city assistance on a data center development and to “refrain from signing any non-disclosure agreements related to supporting, permitting, or allowing data centers[.]” This is the first action related to data centers at Portland City Council. 

Councilor Koyama Lane submitted an amendment to the resolution that declares “that City Council intends to pursue moratorium or zoning restriction on all hyperscale data centers at the earliest time and to consider additional approaches for large-load data centers." The vote passed 3-0. Councilor Pirtle-Guiney was absent for the vote.

The Committee voted 4-0 to advance to resolution to full council. 

Dineen Crowe, Campaign Director 350 PDX, said, 

“We are pleased to see Portland City Council take up the issue of non-disclosure agreements for data centers. It’s a no brainer to stop the Mayor and City Administration from secretly negotiating data center agreements. We hope that this is the first step toward a data center moratorium in the City of Portland.”

Michael Mintz, Oregon Data Center Defiance said, 

“We are grateful that Councilors Koyama Lane and Green have started the conversation in City Hall about data centers in Portland. Given what we’ve seen around the country and in Oregon, local governments have to be very proactive in restricting developments they do not want or risk being overrun by data center proposals from tech companies.”

Sam Diaz, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon said:

“Good, durable solutions that take care of all Portlanders starts with knowing what we’re looking at, knowing what the options are, and what the consequences of choosing each of the options are. 

Wealthy corporations shouldn’t be entitled to private, back-room conversations with our city’s elected officials and staff. We’re grateful to see Councilors Koyama-Lane and Green elevate this foundational safeguard.”

Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to rapidly accelerate AI data center construction, Americans are increasingly opposed to building these facilities in their own communities. (1, 2). On July 14, New York became the first state to adopt a moratorium on data centers. Shortly after, on July 27th, Hillsboro became the first city in Oregon to enact a short-term moratorium on data centers. 

Polling in August showed that 66% of Oregonians support a data center moratorium. After the polling was released, Governor Kotek said she supports local data center moratoria. 

In early August, 6 Democratic legislators and candidates called for a three-year moratorium on large-scale data center development in Oregon and pledged to bring legislation to that effect in 2027. They insist that this is critical for allowing time to develop regulations and standards to protect Oregonians’ land, air, and water, to ensure integrity of our energy grid, and to keep costs down for utility ratepayers. The leaders include: Senators Neron Misslin and Jeff Golden, Representatives Lesly Muñoz and Farrah Chaichi, and Democratic Candidates Myrna Muñoz and Dr. Tammy Carpenter.

Ginny Ross, Organizer, Indivisible Washington County said:

“When passed, this Act will implement a 3-year new construction moratorium, propose a statutory framework, establish a task force and declare an emergency. The recent out of control growth of these centers to feed the AI explosion makes clear that there is no time to lose.”

In Salem, Oregon, community members are fighting a proposed $5.1 billion dollar data center slated for development on behalf of the global firm, Verrus. Nearly 11,000 people have signed onto a petition opposing the data center. The Salem City Council is considering a data center moratorium. 

Both Clackamas and Washington Counties have also signaled they will consider data center moratoria. 

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