Scope
Cleveland Emergency Ordinance No. 1246-2026 extends the moratorium on the review and issuance of all use, building and zoning permits, certificates of occupancy, and other license or permit applications, including licenses or permits issued by the Department of Public Utilities, for the expansion of an existing standalone data center or establishment of a data center as a principal use in a standalone facility or building. The extension runs for a period beginning 20 October 2026 and ending on the earlier of the effective date of any newly enacted or amended codified ordinance sections regulating or prohibiting data centers or 29 January 2027. The ordinance's preamble identifies the moratorium as the one declared by Ordinance No. 556-2026, and it applies only in the City of Cleveland.
- Geographic scope
- City of Cleveland, Ohio
- Jurisdiction
- Local
- Authority type
- Local government
- Issuing authority
- Cleveland City Council
Dates
- Adopted
- 19 October 2026
- Effective
- 19 October 2026
- Scheduled expiration
- 29 January 2027
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- Section 1 of the ordinance extends the moratorium for a period beginning 20 October 2026 and ending on the earlier of the effective date of any newly enacted or amended codified ordinance sections regulating or prohibiting data centers or 29 January 2027. The stored date is that printed outer limit.
- Source document
- The source page states no document date
- Last checked
- 30 October 2026
Summary
Cleveland City Council passed Emergency Ordinance No. 1246-2026 on 19 October 2026, and the council's legislative record lists the same day as its effective date. The ordinance extends, from 20 October 2026, the moratorium declared by Ordinance No. 556-2026 on reviewing and issuing use, building and zoning permits, certificates of occupancy and other licenses or permits, including Department of Public Utilities permits, for expanding an existing standalone data center or establishing a data center as a principal use in a standalone building. The extension ends when new or amended data center ordinance sections take effect or on 29 January 2027, whichever is earlier. It is a temporary ordinance, not a permanent prohibition, and does not by itself order existing facilities to close.
What this does not establish
- The council's legislative record lists 19 October 2026 as both the passage and the effective date. The ordinance says it takes effect immediately upon passage and the Mayor's approval if two-thirds of the members elected to Council vote for it; the vote count and the Mayor's approval date were not shown in the documents read.
- The ordinance copy read is the introduced text, with blank clerk and Mayor approval lines.
- Cleveland Ordinance No. 556-2026, whose moratorium this ordinance extends, is listed separately on this site. This ordinance does not say that it repeals or replaces Ordinance No. 556-2026.
- The stored 29 January 2027 end is the latest date in the ordinance; the extension ends earlier if new data center regulations take effect first.
- It is a City of Cleveland measure only and does not apply elsewhere in Ohio.
Unresolved questions
- Whether Council adopts data center regulations that take effect before 29 January 2027, which would end the extended pause earlier.
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.
- Related, not a replacement Cleveland: temporary moratorium on data center permits (Ord. 556-2026) (In effect)
Sources
Primary source: Cleveland City Council page on cityofcleveland.legistar.com
- Ordinance No. 1246-2026 text — Ordinance text as introduced, read the first time on 12 October 2026; the clerk and Mayor approval lines are blank in this copy · 12 October 2026