Status: Proposed · substituted and recommended for passage by the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee, 6 October 2026 · Next: Common Council vote · Checked: 8 October 2026
For an existing enterprise facility. The pause covers enlarging an existing data center, not only new ones. A server room inside an office, hospital or other building with a different principal use is excluded. A standalone enterprise data center planning an addition in Milwaukee would need to know whether the ordinance passes, and when.
What it would do
The substitute ordinance prohibits “the establishment of new data centers or enlargement of existing data centers” while it is in effect. No city department, board or officer could approve an application, permit, occupancy, zoning or site-plan request “to establish, construct, enlarge, expand, convert, or occupy a data center.” The prohibition applies however the facility is described in an application, if its principal use meets the definition. It does not apply to planned development districts.
It would last for the lesser of one year after passage, or until the zoning code is amended to regulate data centers. A separate file (260142) proposes that zoning framework.
Who it affects
A “data center” is a facility used primarily to operate, maintain or provide access to computer and network facilities, together with accessory uses such as offices, air handlers, power generators, generator fuel storage, water cooling and utility infrastructure. It does not mean “a computer server room or a facility that serves another principal use on the same premises.” The ordinance sets no size threshold.
If you operate or plan a data center in Milwaukee, check
- Whether your facility’s principal use is the data center, or whether it is accessory to another use.
- Whether any permit or approval for an addition, conversion or new equipment yard is pending, and when the Council vote is scheduled.
- Whether file 260142, the zoning framework, sets standards that would apply after the pause.
Primary source
Government source. City of Milwaukee, File 251924, substitute 2, drafted 5 October 2026; recommended for passage by the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee, 6 October 2026.