Seattle City Council votes unanimously to pause big new data centers

The Seattle City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to impose a one-year emergency moratorium on new large data centers, citing concerns about AI's impact on the city's power grid, water supply, and utility rates. "This is Seattle's position on AI and data centers," said Councilmember Debora Juarez. More than 50 people testified — none in favor of data centers, with some calling for the moratorium to be permanent.