Snohomish County, WA Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Moratoriums (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted by
- Emergency Ord. 26-026, eff. June 24, 2026
- Scope
- All zones, incidental uses included
- Sunset
- 6 months unless renewed
- Governing code
- SCC 30.28.032
- Overrides
- Conflicting use permissions in ch. 30.22 SCC
Summary
Snohomish County has frozen all new data center applications countywide. SCC 30.28.032 bars the county from filing, accepting, processing, or approving any application to establish, expand, or convert to a data center use in any zone while the moratorium is in effect.
30.28.032 Data centers - moratorium. Pursuant to the ordinance codified in this section, a moratorium has been adopted on the filing, acceptance, processing, or approval of applications to establish or expand data centers (including as incidental uses) or change of use to data centers (including as incidental uses) in all zones. The moratorium applies to all data centers, whether as a component of a project or as the entire project for which a permit is sought. This moratorium is a specific requirement that supersedes any general regulation in chapter 30.22 SCC that could be interpreted to allow a data center. This section shall be repealed automatically within six months after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section unless renewed.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through legislation passed August 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
032, adopted by Emergency Ordinance 26-026 effective June 24, 2026, imposes a moratorium on the filing, acceptance, processing, or approval of applications to establish or expand data centers, including data centers proposed as incidental uses within a larger project, or to change an existing use to a data center. The moratorium reaches every zone in unincorporated Snohomish County and applies whether the data center is the entire project or just one component of it. 22 SCC that could otherwise be read to allow a data center as a permitted or conditional use in a given zone.
The moratorium is not indefinite by design. 032 sunsets automatically six months after the ordinance's effective date unless the county council renews it, meaning the freeze is currently scheduled to lapse around late December 2026 absent council action. Because it was adopted as an emergency ordinance, it took effect immediately upon passage rather than after the standard waiting period, reflecting the county's stated urgency in halting new data center siting while it works out permanent standards. Anyone with a pending or contemplated data center project in the unincorporated county, including large-footprint server farms tied to cloud or AI computing demand, is blocked from moving that application forward at the Department of Planning and Development until the moratorium is lifted or expires.
Violations & Fines
The Department of Planning and Development is barred from accepting or processing a data center application while SCC 30.28.032 is in effect; an application submitted during the moratorium period does not vest and cannot advance to approval regardless of underlying zoning, since the section explicitly supersedes chapter 30.22 SCC use permissions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still apply to build a data center in unincorporated Snohomish County?
When does the Snohomish County data center moratorium expire?
Does the moratorium apply if the data center is only part of a larger development?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Snohomish County
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