Mountain Home City Council passes emergency moratorium on data center projects

By Sahana Patel. Originally published 8:24 AM, Oct 28, 2026.

MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KIVI) — Mountain Home City Council approved an emergency moratorium temporarily blocking data center applications and permits after residents packed city hall, but some neighbors want a full ban.

"I would say about time," neighbor Dara Corvus said.

READ MORE |Mountain Home neighbors raise concerns over proposed data center as zoning rules currently prohibit it

As Idaho News 6 reported Monday, Mayor Rich Sykes sent a letter to company owner Dan Weitz after Sykes said Weitz dropped off plans for four three-story buildings — about 3.4 million square feet total — planned for the Bennett Ranch Industrial Campus.

The letter noted that Weitz has not submitted a land-use application, conditional use permit or building permit. And under the city's current zoning code, data centers are not listed as a permitted or conditional use.

But for some of the neighbors who came to city hall, a pause doesn't settle their concerns.

"I am disappointed that it took this many people showing up after months to get this one thing addressed. This is something that has been brought up many times," neighbor Andrew Toth said.

Others thanked the council for taking action but said they want Mountain Home to go further.

"We're very appreciative about. However, I want to advocate for us to add data centers on the prohibited list so that this is not something that moves forward in the future," neighbor Aaron Madison said.

The question on many neighbors' minds now is what happens when the pause is up.

RELATED | Thousands of acres of public land south of Boise eyed for new data center

Corvus said she wants the city to use that time to draw a much harder line.

"I would like to see a very clear definition for a data center and outright ban them, especially these large AI data centers," Corvus said.

The city said it's been working since July to define and categorize data centers in its zoning code.

Under Idaho state law, an emergency moratorium can last no longer than 182 days — six months.