Local votes and rules
⏸️ Pause on new data centers · Salem
After a public hearing, Salem City Council voted 7-0 (two absent) for a 120-day pause on new data center projects, starting right away. Reports say it covers data centers using more than 2 megawatts and runs to about Jan. 19, 2027, when the council may extend it. Verrus filed its Mill Creek plan before the pause, so city lawyers said current rules apply to it.
⏸️ Pause on new data centers · Woodburn
Woodburn City Council voted unanimously for a 120-day pause on new data center permits and proposals (Resolution 2267). Other industrial projects are not affected. No data center applications are pending in Woodburn. The city cited water as a main worry. The pause can be extended up to six months.
📌 Other · Salem
After more than four hours of public comment, Salem City Council voted unanimously to start the legal process for a data center pause. State law requires 45 days' notice before a moratorium hearing.
📌 Other · Salem
At a long meeting about the Verrus project, Salem councilors unanimously backed looking into a ban on future secret deals (NDAs) with data center companies, and created a nine-member data center task force. The task force is to hold town halls and make recommendations by the end of 2026.
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In Oregon, cities and towns decide inside their limits. Outside them, the county decides.