The moratorium would give city officials “time to evaluate the potential effects of data centers, research best practices, and consider changes to the zoning code,” city documents say.
St. Charles City Councilman Vince Ratchford said he sees the moratorium as necessary.
“As data centers continue to evolve and expand nationally, it is essential that our zoning code and development standards keep pace,” Ratchford said.
The decision comes days after the City Council heard from more than 50 speakers, many of them opposed to a now-scuttled 440-acre data center that a developer had hoped to build along Highway 370 in north St. Charles.
On Thursday, resident Scott Stratton-Henderson, who organized a signature petition to block the project, called the moratorium “a good step in the right direction” in rebuilding the public’s trust in the city council.
“Their credibility is definitely shot,” he said. “And there is a lot of mistrust right now, and they are going to have to work really hard to get that trust back with the public.”
Hundreds of residents have come to recent meetings with lists of concerns, from construction dust to energy use to wildlife impacts to water pollution. Several worried diesel fuel the data center said it needed to power backup generators could contaminate nearby wetlands, farms and the city’s drinking water. Conservation agencies worried that the data center posed “irreversible threats” to the environment.
St. Charles Data Center
Susan Cordani, left, reacts to the comments made by supporters of the now-scuttled data center in St. Charles. Cordani was among hundreds of residents who attended the Aug. 19, 2025, council meeting.
CRG, the local developer on the project, said a “Fortune 100” company would have used the sprawling complex of five 285,000-square-foot warehouses, but declined to identify the company.
City officials, including St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer, had said they couldn’t identify the company because they had signed a non-disclosure agreement with the developer.
This frustrated many residents.
“You can’t put lipstick on this pig,” Patricia Semke, a St. Charles resident, said at a meeting Tuesday.
“St Charles residents deserve clarity as to who the company would be who is going to use this data center,” she continued.
CRG, the development arm of construction giant Clayco, had said the data center would be built over the next decade on property that is between Harry S Truman Boulevard and Huster Road.
The proposed moratorium is sponsored by all 10 members of the St. Charles City Council, who will meet at 2 p.m. Friday in St. Charles City Hall.
The moratorium would pause the acceptance of any zoning change applications for data centers or the issuing of any building permits for data centers.
Ratchford, the councilmember, said he hopes city staff will use the time to study the potential impact on infrastructure, the environment, and the character of the surrounding neighborhoods in St. Charles.
The meeting will include a public comment period, according to the agenda. If approved, the moratorium would go into effect Aug. 22.
St. Charles data center posed 'irreversible threats' to the environment, groups say
The data center would have displaced endangered or threatened animal and plant species, said officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Angry residents storm St. Charles Council meeting. 'Lynch mob,' says Borgmeyer
One called the process "slimy" and "malignant." Others said city officials had undermined the public's trust. Several called for St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer to resign.
Data center is dead in St. Charles, for now. Developer withdraws plans
CRG, the development arm of construction giant Clayco, on Monday afternoon notified the city that it was pulling the project off Tuesday's council meeting agenda.
Mayor's cousin owns site of planned data center in St. Charles. Mayor withdraws support
City councilmembers said on Monday that they didn't know Dan Borgmeyer was related to the data center site's owner.
Company behind proposed St. Charles data center won't be known before vote, officials say
The name of the company is part of a non-disclosure agreement that city officials and the company have signed.
2nd company wants to store hazardous materials in St. Charles. City gives early OK
Life Couriers wants to store and distribute medications used to treat prostate cancer and leukemia from a warehouse along Highway 370.
A new data center planned in St. Charles. Critics raise water, flooding, energy concerns.
Residents say they are frustrated by the lack of details from the developer, who has not said what company would be using the data center.
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