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WHEREAS, Oregon communities where data center clusters are located have documented the negative impacts of data center development on natural resource use, groundwater contamination, energy bills, and public health; and

WHEREAS, in June and July 2026, cities in Oregon and Washington have taken action to limit data center development, including the Hillsboro City Council's unanimous approval of a 120-day moratorium on new data center development, and bans on new construction of data centers in Seattle and Tacoma; and

WHEREAS, data centers can impact household costs and livability for Portlanders due to their large size, propensity to emit noise, and significant consumption of energy resources; and

WHEREAS, the state's data center buildout has corresponded with a 50% increase in Portland General Electric and Pacific Power customers' energy bills, and data centers now consume 5.6% of Oregon's electricity; and

WHEREAS, a 20-megawatt power draw represents energy use from a data center facility that uses or can use more than 20 megawatts, which is commonly used as a cutoff in state and local policies to distinguish large-load data centers from data operations in standard commercial buildings; and

WHEREAS, water usage varies among types and sizes of data centers, the daily water use of some hyperscale data centers is equivalent to that of thousands of households; and

WHEREAS, data centers' significant energy needs require technology, including diesel generators and cooling systems, that contribute to emissions and noise pollution in surrounding communities; and

WHEREAS, anti-racism and equity are core values of the City of Portland, and local and national examples demonstrate that low-income people and communities of color most often shoulder the burden of negative health impacts created by data centers, linked to poor air quality, water quality, and hazardous waste concentration; and

WHEREAS, in other jurisdictions, elected officials have been pressured to sign non-disclosure agreements regarding data center negotiations, in order to shield projects from public view; and

WHEREAS, transparency is a core value of the City of Portland, and the community must be informed about the potential for future data center development in Portland, and given the opportunity to provide meaningful input.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council urges the City Administrator and any City leadership to refrain from signing any non-disclosure agreements related to supporting, permitting, or allowing data centers, which includes agreements related but not limited to siting, permits, future scaling, fees, public engagement, economic opportunities, use of resources, and utility rates; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council requests that the City Administrator notify the Council if the City receives a request for Early Assistance or another preliminary meeting, or permit application, from an outside party related to the siting, permitting, or creation of a data center with a power draw of 20 megawatts or more, or the scaling or changing of an existing data center to draw 20 megawatts or more in the future; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all City of Portland officials are encouraged to engage in transparent, public processes for all decisions related to data center support, incentives, permits, public processes or decisions, or allowances; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that City Council intends to pursue moratorium or zoning restrictions on all hyperscale data centers at the earliest time and to consider additional approaches for large-load data centers.