https://www.weeklycitizen.com/story/news/local/2026/10/27/ascension-parish-officials-approve-90-day-moratorium-for-data-centers/92454228007/

• The Ascension Parish Council reconvened its meeting Oct. 26 after several days of recess.
• A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to discussing data centers.
• The council passed a 90-day moratorium on new data centers and high-impact facilities.
• This moratorium will be revisited at the council's meeting set for Jan. 21, 2027.

The Ascension Parish Council approved a 90-day moratorium on possible data centers Oct. 26.

Members reconvened its meeting in Gonzales following a recess that began Oct. 15 due to traffic from the East Ascension High School homecoming parade held simultaneously that evening.

As members gathered again at the courthouse annex, the council spent much of the nearly three-and-a-half hour meeting discussing possible high impact development facilities, such as data centers, and listening to comments from the public.

Near the end, Council Chair Chase Melancon made a motion for the moratorium, with the matter to be brought back Jan. 21, 2027, during the meeting scheduled for the courthouse annex in Gonzales.

Todd Varnado seconded the moratorium motion, and it passed without objection from the other members.

Prior to the decision, many citizens spoke about their concerns regarding the possibility of data centers building in the parish.

"We just need more information and that's what we're doing tonight," Varnado said late in the meeting. "We're doing what we're supposed to do and granting ourselves more time to have more information."

At one point during the meeting, Parish President Clint Cointment broke down his thoughts on the three options the parish has concerning data centers.

"You can do nothing, and have no protections in place," he said, referring to the first option. "You can have a facility buy a piece of property, invest in it, and fight them legally because you have nothing in place. You can put protective ordinances in place, so they have to follow rules, if the body chooses to put regulations in place for a data center to operate here on very strict confinement operations. Or you do a moratorium and kill it. That's the three options."

He went on to note that the council could extend the moratorium early next year or create new solutions moving forward.

Major concerns over data centers have included resource consumption, environmental impacts and quality of life issues.

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Edit: I didn’t make this flyer lol. Just helping the guy out by posting about the festival.

Does anyone know what the building is used for now? I always see cars there.