Local votes and rules
⏸️ Pause on new data centers · Dover
Dover is close to an 18-month pause on new data centers (Proposed Ordinance 2026-14). The city would not accept, review or approve permits, rezonings or utility deals for data centers using 30 megawatts or more, or other very large power users. A council committee backed it unanimously in August 2026. In late September council moved it forward and voted to add a data center definition. The final vote is set for the October 12, 2026 council meeting. City leaders want time to study power, water, costs and noise first.
✋ Turned down · Harrington
City Council voted unanimously against a zoning change that would have let data centers ask for a conditional use permit in manufacturing zones. Developer Maguire Hayden wanted it for a 24-megawatt data center in a former cold storage warehouse and offered the city $1 million in community benefits. About 100 people came, all against it. Council first took up the change about 10 months earlier and tabled it. Without the change, data centers cannot be built in Harrington. The developer's lawyer said there are no more plans for the site.
📜 Data center rules · Unincorporated Kent County
Levy Court voted 7-0 for Ordinance LC26-06. Data centers are allowed only in Limited Industrial and General Industrial zones, and only if they meet set rules. They must be 300 feet from homes, keep noise at 55 decibels at the property line, plant tree buffers, and show letters from water and power providers. Projects that meet the rules do not need a public hearing ("by right"). Some commissioners want to change that, and the county attorney is checking if a full ban is legal. The rules do not cover cities and towns like Dover or Harrington.
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In Delaware, cities and towns decide inside their limits. Outside them, the county decides.