Scope
Santa Fe County Ordinance No. 2026-06 stops the County from accepting new applications for, processing or acting on applications for, or issuing development approvals or development permits for covered data centers during the ordinance's effective period. Section 2.E defines a covered data center as a facility or proposed expansion primarily used for data functions with proposed aggregate IT load capacity of at least 1 megawatt, subject to the ordinance's stated exclusions and exemptions. The ordinance governs County approvals and permits; it is not a statewide New Mexico rule and does not direct existing operating facilities to close.
- Geographic scope
- Santa Fe County, New Mexico
- Jurisdiction
- Local
- Authority type
- Local government
- Issuing authority
- Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners
Dates
- Adopted
- 30 June 2026
- Effective
- 9 July 2026
- Scheduled expiration
- 9 January 2028
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- Section 10.B repeals the ordinance eighteen months from its effective date, but authorizes the Board to extend the effective period for additional reasonable periods. The stored 9 January 2028 date is calculated from the 9 July 2026 recordation date and is subject to extension.
- Source document
- 30 June 2026
- Last checked
- 5 October 2026
Summary
Santa Fe County adopted Ordinance No. 2026-06 on 30 June 2026 and recorded it on 9 July 2026, when Section 10 made it effective. It pauses County acceptance, processing and issuance of covered data center development approvals and permits. The ordinance uses a 1-megawatt proposed aggregate IT-load threshold in its data center definition, expressly protects complete pre-effective-date applications and vested rights, and exempts County governmental data processing facilities. It is scheduled to repeal eighteen months after recordation unless the Board extends it.
What this does not establish
- Section 4.A attempts to exempt facilities that do not meet either threshold in Section 2(G)(1) or (2), but Section 2.G only defines the Sustainable Land Development Code and contains no numbered thresholds. This record does not repair or interpret that internal cross-reference.
- Section 10.A says the ordinance takes effect immediately upon recordation. It also provides a fallback to the first date otherwise allowed by law if a court can question the emergency declaration and finds that no emergency conditions existed; this review found no such court ruling.
- The scheduled 9 January 2028 date is calculated from the recordation date; the ordinance states the duration as eighteen months and authorizes extensions.
- The ordinance governs Santa Fe County development approvals and permits. It is not a statewide New Mexico restriction, a permanent prohibition or an order closing existing facilities.
- The ordinance text does not state the Board's vote. A County news release dated 2 July 2026 says the Board voted unanimously to adopt it; the release is not the ordinance. The published PDF is a scanned image without a text layer; DataCenterData read the ordinance and its 9 July 2026 recording stamp from the page images. The County's 2026 ordinance index, read on 5 October 2026, lists no later ordinance titled as amending, extending or repealing it; an index title is not proof that none exists.
Unresolved questions
- Whether the Board later amends, extends or repeals the ordinance before the calculated 9 January 2028 date.
- How Santa Fe County administers the erroneous Section 2(G)(1) or (2) cross-reference in Section 4.A.
Relationships
Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.
- No related action is recorded.
Sources
https://www.santafecountynm.gov/documents/ordinances/Ordinance_2026-06.pdf
- Santa Fe County 2026 ordinances and resolutions index Official county index identifying Ordinance 2026-06 and linking the recorded ordinance
- Santa Fe County news release on adoption of the moratorium official statement that the Board voted unanimously on 30 June 2026 to adopt an 18-month moratorium · 2 July 2026