Clackamas County residents could see data centers arrive in their county, or new zoning rules that limit where the facilities can go, after the Board of Commissioners agreed July 7, to study whether the county should actively recruit them.
No data centers exist in Clackamas County. But under current zoning, a company could build one in general industrial, light industrial, or business park zones without any data-center-specific review.
The board directed staff to study the issue and to notify commissioners immediately if a development application arrives.
Commissioner Diana Helm pushed for recruitment, citing the county's 3% property tax revenue cap as a reason to seek new income.
"Just saying 'data center,' people get up in arms," Helm said at the July 7 meeting. "'Oh, we can't have those here.' Well we can and we should."
Commissioner Paul Savas struck a different tone, warning that the facilities' massive electricity demand could raise bills for households. He said passing costs on to ratepayers "is really not a good tradeoff." Board Chair Craig Roberts flagged noise, noting that the industrial cooling fans data centers use can be extremely loud — a factor that could shape where the county allows them.
The stakes are concrete. A Greenfield report cited at the meeting estimated a single large data center can require roughly 5 million gallons of water per day for cooling. Also cited at the meeting: an American Association for the Advancement of Science projection that data centers will consume between 6% and 12% of total U.S. energy by 2030.
Statewide context
The board's study comes as Oregon grapples with data center growth across the metro area. On the same day as the Clackamas County meeting, the Oregon Public Utility Commission approved a 29.7% electricity rate increase for data centers served by Portland General Electric, implementing the state's POWER Act.
Those new rates took effect Wednesday, July 8. PGE's residential customers are expected to see a 1.3% rate decrease under the restructured pricing.
In neighboring Washington County, the industry has become a flashpoint. Hillsboro hosts 21 data centers spanning roughly 470 acres, and tech companies received nearly $90 million in enterprise zone tax breaks there in 2025.
A lawsuit filed June 24 in Washington County Circuit Court by the Oregon Education Association, 1000 Friends of Oregon, and others alleges Hillsboro and Washington County rushed through 17 tax-break applications, some offering 25 years of property tax waivers, before a statewide moratorium on the Standard Enterprise Zone program took effect Saturday, June 6.
That moratorium means data center tax incentives are paused statewide, adding uncertainty to any recruitment effort Clackamas County might pursue.
What's next
The board did not set a date for its next discussion of the data center study. No formal vote count was recorded; the Lake Oswego Review reported the board "agreed" and "directed staff" without specifying a roll call. Residents can track the topic through the Clackamas County public meeting calendar at clackamas.us.
