Hillsboro City Council Special Work Session: June 9, 2026

The Hillsboro City Council held a special work session on June 9, 2026, focusing extensively on data centers, land use regulations, and the city's enterprise zone program. The council discussed the regulatory framework governing data center development, including environmental protections, zoning restrictions, and the land use code amendment process. Significant attention was given to the enterprise zone tax incentive program, including its application process, community service fees collected from participating companies, and the allocation of those funds toward workforce development and economic development initiatives. Council members debated potential policy changes such as creating new use categories for data centers, imposing stricter land use restrictions, requiring environmental and economic impact studies, and exploring a moratorium on new data center developments. They also discussed the transparency and public engagement in the approval process for enterprise zone agreements and data center projects. The council expressed interest in evaluating the sustainability and equity of the community service fee formula, considering local utility fees for large power users, and exploring a community benefit fund to assist income-qualified households with utility costs. Staff committed to further analysis of these policy options, including jurisdictional authority and potential state-level advocacy, and to providing council with summaries and updates to facilitate ongoing public communication and decision-making.