Data centers in Tulare County, California: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Tulare County has paused new data centers in its unincorporated areas. Supervisors voted 4-1 on August 18, 2026 for a 45-day moratorium, which runs to about October 2 unless they extend it; it can be stretched to as long as two years while planners write zoning rules. No developer has applied, but the county has had inquiries about large sites. Supervisor Dennis Townsend voted no, preferring to debate each proposal as it comes.

Groundwater drove the vote. "We all sit on (groundwater sustainability agency) boards, and we know the issues going on and the impact they have on our farming," said Supervisor Larry Micari. "If there's a big data center that uses a million gallons of water a day, we should be able to close it." Supervisor Eddie Valero, whose district includes East Orosi, a community that has fought contaminated drinking water for decades, worried about adding "an extraordinarily resource-intensive land use" to a valley with poor air and extreme heat.

The spark was the county fairground in Tulare, where Global Stack wants to place shipping-container-sized computing units it calls emergency-resilience systems. The fair board tabled the idea in July, and at a packed August 18 meeting its president, Gary Castro, said the board had not approved or proposed "any commercial data center." Because the fairgrounds are state land outside county control, supervisors also agreed to send an automatic letter opposing any AI data center another public body in the county considers. Visalia's council agreed on August 17 to take up a moratorium at a future meeting.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.