Maine local moratoria
Every local infrastructure moratorium in the inventory for Maine, current through August 19, 2026.
6 instruments — 6 in force, 0 pending, 0 past.
State policy is tracked separately: 6 actions (6 bills) in state_legislation.csv. These are not included in the local count above.
| Jurisdiction | Type | Enacted | Sectors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangor | City | 2026-04-13 | data center | 🟢 Active |
| Brunswick | Town | 2026-06-01 | data center | 🟢 Active |
| Gorham | Town | 2026-06-02 | data center | 🟢 Active |
| Sanford | City | 2026-05-19 | data center | 🟢 Extended |
| Scarborough | Town | 2026-06-03 | data center | 🟢 Active |
| Westbrook | City | 2026-06-01 | data center | 🟢 Active |
Detailed entries
Bangor
- Type: City
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-04-13
- Normalized date:
2026-04-13(exact) - Duration: 180 days; ordinance text states repeal on 2026-08-09 or earlier if replacement land-use amendments take effect
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
me-bangor-2026 - Legal basis: City Council Ordinance 26-138, "Moratorium Ordinance on Data Centers in the City of Bangor"; cites 30-A M.R.S.A. 4356(1)(B)
- What prompted it: Sudden development pressure; lack of use-specific standards; concerns about electricity use, water use, cooling, air and water pollution, noise, land consumption, water supply, wastewater infrastructure, grid resilience, and impacts on neighboring property owners
- Affected projects: No named project identified in the city packet or captured news coverage
- Detailed status: Active as of 2026-07-31. Official City Council minutes confirm Ordinance 26-138 was adopted at the April 13, 2026 regular meeting: the Council first voted 9-0 to waive the requirement of reading on two separate days, then voted 9-0 for final passage the same night.
- Outcome: Pending. The moratorium directs the city to develop Land Development Code amendments and related standards before new data center applications proceed.
Brunswick
- Type: Town
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-06-01, Town Council adoption
- Normalized date:
2026-06-01(exact) - Duration: 180 days from effective date
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
me-brunswick-2026 - Legal basis: Data Center Moratorium Ordinance, adopted under 30-A M.R.S. sections 3001 and 4356
- What prompted it: Proactive council action amid rising developer interest in siting data centers; concerns about demand on electrical and water infrastructure, PFAS, and other environmental impacts
- Affected projects: None named; enacted preemptively ahead of any specific pending application
- Detailed status: Active as of 2026-07-31 (180-day window runs to approximately late November 2026). A July 27, 2026 Planning & Development staff memo to the Town Council confirms the moratorium remains in force while staff draft permanent zoning standards for Council review.
- Outcome: 180-day moratorium on new, enlarged, or expanded data centers of 1 MW or greater electrical capacity
Gorham
- Type: Town
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-06-02, Town Council adoption, 7-0 vote
- Normalized date:
2026-06-02(exact) - Duration: Six months (180 days) while the town researches regulations for large-scale data center facilities; contemporary reporting said the pause could be extended for another 180 days if necessary
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
me-gorham-2026 - Legal basis: Town Council ordinance/order (exact instrument number and statutory citation not located in sources reviewed)
- What prompted it: Town researching regulations for large-scale data center facilities
- Affected projects: —
- Detailed status: Active per local reporting as of 2026-07-31; the enacted ordinance text was not located in the town's current web archive, so its exact application language remains unverified [VERIFY instrument number; primary source (news-only evidence) not confirmed at confidence 0.6 in the 2026-07 refresh]
- Outcome: —
Sanford
- Type: City
- Status: 🟢 Extended
- Date enacted: On or about 2026-05-19, reported as an emergency moratorium; primary ordinance text/order number not located
- Normalized date:
2026-05-19(range) - Duration: Initial 91-day emergency pause extended by City Council for an additional 180 days on 2026-08-04.
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
me-sanford-2026 - Legal basis: Emergency moratorium order; exact citation not located
- What prompted it: A proposed data center project along/near the Mousam River
- Affected projects: Proposed data center project near the Mousam River
- Detailed status: Extended and active as of 2026-08-19. Sanford City Council unanimously extended the emergency data-center moratorium by 180 days on 2026-08-04. [VERIFY: signed extension order/ordinance number not located]
- Outcome: Emergency moratorium halting a specific pending data-center project
Scarborough
- Type: Town
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-06-03, Town Council adoption
- Normalized date:
2026-06-03(exact) - Duration: 180 days, or until a new and revised set of regulations is adopted, whichever occurs first
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
me-scarborough-2026 - Legal basis: Ordinance Establishing a Temporary Moratorium on Data Centers, adopted under 30-A M.R.S. section 4356
- What prompted it: Increasing developer interest in siting data centers; existing zoning ordinance deemed inadequate to address grid, water, traffic, and noise impacts. Applies retroactively to any application submitted on or after 2026-04-01.
- Affected projects: Not tied to a single named project; applies retroactively to applications submitted on/after 2026-04-01
- Detailed status: Active as of 2026-07-31 (180-day window runs to approximately early December 2026 absent extension or earlier replacement by permanent regulations).
- Outcome: 180-day moratorium on data center siting, permitting, construction, or operation
Westbrook
- Type: City
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-06-01, City Council adoption, Order 2026-66, vote 6-0 (Councilor Faulkingham absent)
- Normalized date:
2026-06-01(exact) - Duration: 180 days from effective date
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
me-westbrook-2026 - Legal basis: Order 2026-66, Adopting a Data Center Moratorium Ordinance, under 30-A M.R.S. sections 3001 and 4356
- What prompted it: Statewide pattern of concern over grid strain, water/energy use, and environmental impact from data centers; the item was first discussed by the Housing & Economic Development Committee on 2026-05-18 before Council adoption
- Affected projects: None named; enacted preemptively
- Detailed status: Active as of 2026-07-31 (180-day window runs to approximately late November 2026). The Council simultaneously referred a review of data-center definitions and regulations in the Land Use Ordinance to the Planning Board for permanent rulemaking.
- Outcome: 180-day moratorium ordinance adopted 6-0
Source: moratorium_inventory.csv · Methodology · Codebook.