On Tuesday in Jennings, the Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury is scheduled to hold a public hearing and a roll-call vote on an ordinance "establishing requirements and regulations for data centers within Jefferson Davis Parish." No data center has been announced there. That is the point. Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury, agenda for the Nov. 10, 2026 meeting (posted Nov. 4, 2026) Jennings Daily News, "Ordinance Committee addresses battery storage, data centers" (Sept. 9, 2026)
Across south Louisiana, parish governments are trying to write the rulebook before a developer shows up with a site plan. Jefferson Davis is voting next week. Ascension Parish froze approvals last month while it rewrites its draft. West Feliciana is making Hut 8 redesign the second phase of its River Bend campus. And in Moss Bluff, north of Lake Charles, residents are organizing against a data center that exists so far only as a land option. The timing matters, because the national politics of AI infrastructure just shifted in a way that could send more projects Louisiana's way. The Advocate, "Ascension officials order 90-day moratorium on data center development, still no ordinance in place" (Oct. 27, 2026) Pelican Post, "Parish Council imposes 90-day moratorium on data center construction" (Oct. 2026) The Advocate, "River Bend data center site, zoning plans pushed back as Hut 8 reassesses Phase II" (Nov. 3, 2026) Baton Rouge Business Report, "Data center shake-up could redirect billions to Louisiana" (Nov. 4, 2026)
Why the pressure could grow
Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa has pledged an immediate moratorium on new data center approvals until lawmakers set stronger protections for communities, utility customers and water, the Baton Rouge Business Report wrote Nov. 4, summarizing Bloomberg reporting. Texas accounts for nearly 30% of the data center capacity expected to come online nationally by 2028, and an estimated 13 gigawatts of proposed Texas capacity is exposed to possible regulatory changes. Baton Rouge Business Report, "Data center shake-up could redirect billions to Louisiana" (Nov. 4, 2026)
Analyst Gordon Johnson of GLJ Research told Bloomberg that Texas projects with power arrangements but no state environmental permits could face 12- to 18-month delays, while projects lacking both could be redirected to states such as Louisiana and Oklahoma. Newly elected governors in Ohio and Georgia have also backed pauses on new projects. Baton Rouge Business Report, "Data center shake-up could redirect billions to Louisiana" (Nov. 4, 2026)
None of that guarantees a single new filing in Louisiana. But it means the parishes writing rules now may be writing them for real applicants, not hypothetical ones.
Jefferson Davis: zoning first, then the rules
Jefferson Davis Parish started early. In September, the Police Jury's Ordinance Committee recommended adding battery storage facilities and data centers as permitted uses in the parish's I-1 light industrial zoning district, while it kept working on separate permitting rules. The Jennings Daily News described the effort as setting requirements "before either type of development arrives in the parish." Jennings Daily News, "Ordinance Committee addresses battery storage, data centers" (Sept. 9, 2026)
Minutes from the Sept. 9 Police Jury meeting show that a motion to amend the zoning ordinance that way carried, and the committee reported that draft regulations for battery storage and data centers would be revised and brought back. Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury, minutes of the Sept. 9, 2026 meeting Those drafts are now on the agenda: the Nov. 10 meeting lists a public hearing and vote on a battery energy storage ordinance, followed immediately by a public hearing and vote on the data center ordinance. Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury, agenda for the Nov. 10, 2026 meeting (posted Nov. 4, 2026)
The agenda does not include the ordinance text, so what the rules would actually require, from setbacks to noise limits to water use, is not yet public in the meeting packet.
Ascension: a 90-day pause and a blunt legal warning
Ascension Parish is further along in the argument and further from a decision. On Oct. 26, the Parish Council skipped a scheduled vote on its proposed ordinance and instead approved a 90-day moratorium on data center development. The ordinance returns to the council's agenda Jan. 21, four days before the moratorium is set to expire. The Advocate reported that no data center project has been announced in the parish. The Advocate, "Ascension officials order 90-day moratorium on data center development, still no ordinance in place" (Oct. 27, 2026)
The draft, known as DC-26.01, would add a "High Impact Development Facility" category to the parish's land development code. According to the Pelican Post, it is meant to make data centers bear the cost of higher electricity rates rather than spreading them across ratepayers, bar the use of potable water for cooling to protect local aquifers, and regulate constant noise. Pelican Post, "Parish Council imposes 90-day moratorium on data center construction" (Oct. 2026)
The sharpest moment came in an exchange over whether doing nothing would keep data centers out. Councilman Joel Robert argued that leaving the use out of the zoning code meant the facilities could not be built. Parish Attorney Jean Paul Robert disagreed: "The absence of some activity from our code does not mean that it is not permitted. It's the exact opposite." Pelican Post, "Parish Council imposes 90-day moratorium on data center construction" (Oct. 2026)
Residents spoke against data centers, citing worries about resources, health and quality of life. The Advocate, "Ascension officials order 90-day moratorium on data center development, still no ordinance in place" (Oct. 27, 2026) Councilman Brett Arceneaux framed the council's job as protecting the parish "from the bad while we have an opportunity to seize the good." WBRZ, "Ascension Parish council orders 90-day moratorium on possible data centers" (Oct. 2026)
West Feliciana: rules applied to a real project
West Feliciana shows what this looks like once a project is real. Hut 8's River Bend campus in St. Francisville is expected to cost $10 billion, with the first of four Phase I data halls due by early 2027. The Advocate, "River Bend data center site, zoning plans pushed back as Hut 8 reassesses Phase II" (Nov. 3, 2026)
But the parish Planning and Zoning Commission has again pushed back approval of Phase II after residents of the Star Hill neighborhood objected that the site would sit less than a mile from some homes. Parish development services director Gary Mego said at least one Phase II building will likely move closer to the Phase I site on La. 964, and Hut 8 will try to avoid rezoning land along La. 10. The Advocate, "River Bend data center site, zoning plans pushed back as Hut 8 reassesses Phase II" (Nov. 3, 2026)
"We now plan to submit updated site plan and rezoning applications in December 2026, for consideration by the West Feliciana Planning & Zoning Commission in January 2027," said Hailey Miller, Hut 8's senior director of public affairs. A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 4. The Advocate, "River Bend data center site, zoning plans pushed back as Hut 8 reassesses Phase II" (Nov. 3, 2026)
Moss Bluff: opposition before a permit
In Calcasieu Parish, the fight is starting even earlier. David Bunge, president of Missouri-based Azimuth Renewables, holds an option to buy about 1,200 acres along Coffey Road in Moss Bluff and confirmed to The Advocate in September that he plans to develop a data center there, while calling it "the early evaluation stage." No rezoning or variance request had come before the parish board, and the operator, size and power needs were all unknown. The Advocate, "Data center planned for north of Lake Charles, developer confirms. Here's what we know." (Sept. 10, 2026)
State Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, predicted the community would fight it the same way it is fighting a proposed 4,700-acre solar farm nearby. Bunge said the two projects are not linked. The Advocate, "Data center planned for north of Lake Charles, developer confirms. Here's what we know." (Sept. 10, 2026)
Where the state fits
The state has added its own layer. Louisiana Economic Development has moved the Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption to an invitation-only process with a new framework requiring developers to explain how they will pay for power generation and transmission without passing costs to existing customers. The Center Square reported that the 17-page application, dated Oct. 7, does not set uniform financial penalties for broken commitments or say how often companies must report progress. American Press / The Center Square, "Louisiana tightens data center tax break requirements" (Nov. 2, 2026)
That gap is part of why parish rules matter. The state decides who gets a tax break. Parishes decide where a building can go, how loud it can be and what water it can use.
What to watch
Jefferson Davis Parish votes Nov. 10. Ascension's ordinance returns Jan. 21, and West Feliciana's Phase II hearing is set for Jan. 4. If Texas does slow its approvals, those dates may end up being Louisiana's first real tests of whether local rules can keep pace with demand.
Evidence Used
- Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury, agenda for the Nov. 10, 2026 meeting (posted Nov. 4, 2026) Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury, agenda for the Nov. 10, 2026 meeting (posted Nov. 4, 2026) — Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury, agenda for the Nov. 10, 2026 meeting (posted Nov. 4, 2026)
- Jennings Daily News, "Ordinance Committee addresses battery storage, data centers" (Sept. 9, 2026) Jennings Daily News, "Ordinance Committee addresses battery storage, data centers" (Sept. 9, 2026) — Jennings Daily News, "Ordinance Committee addresses battery storage, data centers" (Sept. 9, 2026)
- The Advocate, "Ascension officials order 90-day moratorium on data center development, still no ordinance in place" (Oct. 27, 2026) The Advocate, "Ascension officials order 90-day moratorium on data center development, still no ordinance in place" (Oct. 27, 2026) — The Advocate, "Ascension officials order 90-day moratorium on data center development, still no ordinance in place" (Oct. 27, 2026)
- Pelican Post, "Parish Council imposes 90-day moratorium on data center construction" (Oct. 2026) Pelican Post, "Parish Council imposes 90-day moratorium on data center construction" (Oct. 2026) — Pelican Post, "Parish Council imposes 90-day moratorium on data center construction" (Oct. 2026)
- The Advocate, "River Bend data center site, zoning plans pushed back as Hut 8 reassesses Phase II" (Nov. 3, 2026) The Advocate, "River Bend data center site, zoning plans pushed back as Hut 8 reassesses Phase II" (Nov. 3, 2026) — The Advocate, "River Bend data center site, zoning plans pushed back as Hut 8 reassesses Phase II" (Nov. 3, 2026)
- Baton Rouge Business Report, "Data center shake-up could redirect billions to Louisiana" (Nov. 4, 2026) Baton Rouge Business Report, "Data center shake-up could redirect billions to Louisiana" (Nov. 4, 2026) — Baton Rouge Business Report, "Data center shake-up could redirect billions to Louisiana" (Nov. 4, 2026)
- Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury, minutes of the Sept. 9, 2026 meeting Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury, minutes of the Sept. 9, 2026 meeting — Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury, minutes of the Sept. 9, 2026 meeting
- WBRZ, "Ascension Parish council orders 90-day moratorium on possible data centers" (Oct. 2026) WBRZ, "Ascension Parish council orders 90-day moratorium on possible data centers" (Oct. 2026) — WBRZ, "Ascension Parish council orders 90-day moratorium on possible data centers" (Oct. 2026)
- The Advocate, "Data center planned for north of Lake Charles, developer confirms. Here's what we know." (Sept. 10, 2026) The Advocate, "Data center planned for north of Lake Charles, developer confirms. Here's what we know." (Sept. 10, 2026) — The Advocate, "Data center planned for north of Lake Charles, developer confirms. Here's what we know." (Sept. 10, 2026)
- American Press / The Center Square, "Louisiana tightens data center tax break requirements" (Nov. 2, 2026) American Press / The Center Square, "Louisiana tightens data center tax break requirements" (Nov. 2, 2026) — American Press / The Center Square, "Louisiana tightens data center tax break requirements" (Nov. 2, 2026)