Delaware local moratoria
Every local infrastructure moratorium in the inventory for Delaware, current through September 23, 2026.
1 instrument — 0 in force, 1 pending, 0 past.
State policy is tracked separately: 3 actions (3 bills) in state_legislation.csv. These are not included in the local count above.
| Jurisdiction | Type | Enacted | Sectors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | City | Unverified | data center | 🟡 Pending |
Detailed entries
Dover
- Type: City
- Status: 🟡 Pending
- Date enacted: —
- Normalized date:
—(unverified) - Duration: 18 months from the ordinance's effective date, as drafted; the Council may extend by ordinance upon findings that additional study remains necessary. Not yet adopted as of 2026-09-23.
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
de-dover-undated - Legal basis: Draft ordinance amending the Dover Code to add a 'Large Energy Use Facility' moratorium, sponsored by Councilwoman Donyale Hall and Councilman David Anderson; heard by the Council Committee of the Whole (Legislative, Finance and Administration Committee) on 2026-09-15, which recommended forwarding it to full Council and the Planning Commission for review. No ordinance number assigned; the city's official Ordinances/Resolutions register lists nothing past Ordinance 2026-13 (adopted 2026-08-10) as of 2026-09-23.
- What prompted it: Multiple inquiries about 'Large Energy Use Facilities' (data centers meeting defined MW/load thresholds); city wants time to study electrical capacity, ratepayer cost allocation, infrastructure, land use, environmental standards, and economic impact before adopting permanent regulations
- Affected projects: None named; city officials said they have been approached about at least one small-to-medium data center project but declined to identify it.
- Detailed status: Pending as of 2026-09-23. The draft ordinance would immediately suspend the City's acceptance, processing, review, approval, and issuance of permits, site plan approvals, conditional-use approvals, rezonings, subdivision approvals, building permits, utility service agreements, and certificates of occupancy for any new 'Large Energy Use Facility' (a facility using 75+ MW at 85%+ load factor, 100+ MW instantaneous demand, or 30+ MW and NAICS 518210) for 18 months, with exemptions for government/hospital/university/public-safety/clean-hydrogen facilities and small expansions. First proposed publicly in August 2026 (a City Council committee voted unanimously to advance a draft to full Council); the Council Committee of the Whole heard the finalized ordinance text on 2026-09-15 and recommended it go to full Council and the Planning Commission, but no first or final reading before full Council, and no ordinance number, had been recorded as of 2026-09-23. A sponsor's public social-media post described the proposal as a 24-month moratorium, which conflicts with the 18-month term stated in the drafted ordinance text reviewed here; the ordinance text is treated as authoritative.
- Outcome: —
Source: moratorium_inventory.csv · Methodology · Codebook.