This citizen ballot measure would set clear, measurable limits on data-center noise and outdoor lighting, and require an annual public report of energy, water, and generator use. It's not a ban, it's a floor, so any facility has to be a good neighbor from the start.
La Pine residents have proposed a citizen ballot measure setting measurable standards for any data center in town: a nighttime noise limit at the property line, fully shielded and warm-colored outdoor lighting, and an annual public report of the electricity, water, generator runtime, and jobs each facility actually uses. It follows the City Council's unanimous May 27, 2026 rejection of a 20-megawatt bitcoin-mining proposal whose own figures showed it would draw roughly 15 times the town's electricity. Organizers are now gathering signatures for the November 2026 ballot.
A nighttime noise cap at the property line, plus limits on tonal, low-frequency, and generator noise: the continuous hum that penetrates walls and is hard to escape indoors.
Exterior lighting fully shielded and downward-directed, capped at ≤2200 K with a blue-light limit, matching DarkSky International's current color-temperature recommendation.
An annual public report of electricity, water, generator runtime, and jobs: resource use made visible, before the fact, not after a lawsuit.
This is a local measure, and a leading one. Across the country, communities are writing data-center rules, but almost always one impact at a time. La Pine's measure brings three together (nighttime noise limits, dark-sky lighting, and annual public reporting) and is one of the very few proposed by citizens, for a public vote, rather than written by a council or zoning board.
In Oregon, the pieces are already taking hold. La Pine's own Deschutes County adopted fully-shielded, dark-sky lighting rules in 2025; Crook County (home to the state's largest data centers) has had a countywide dark-sky ordinance since 2024. After a 13-month records fight, The Dalles disclosed a decade of Google's water use. And in Salem, House Bill 3698 would require data centers to report their water and power use every quarter. No Oregon community has yet brought all three into a single local standard: La Pine's measure would be the first, and the first put to voters.
La Pine isn't going it alone. The statewide Dam the Data Centers Coalition has been following the effort closely, because communities across Oregon share many of the same concerns. And beyond Oregon, communities from Fairfax County, Virginia to Linn County, Iowa to Leland, North Carolina have adopted data-center standards of their own, part of a wave now reaching communities in more than 40 states.
55 dBA (the proposed cap) is about the hum of a household refrigerator, just above the roughly 40 dBA of a quiet suburban neighborhood at night. By comparison, the 103 dBA measured next to the Granbury, TX crypto mine is up near a power lawnmower or chainsaw. Granbury neighbors have reported migraines, vertigo, and tinnitus.
Data centers run 24/7; cooling systems and generators produce a continuous low-frequency hum that penetrates walls. 55 dBA is the WHO interim night level and is already used in ordinances in Marana, AZ and Bartow County, GA. The measure's tonal limits match Oregon DEQ's own methodology.
The state DEQ noise program has been administratively suspended since 1991 for lack of funding. State law (ORS 467.100) expressly lets cities adopt their own noise standards. A local measure is exactly the tool Oregon law leaves open.
The Council's May 27 vote rejected one proposal; it does not bind a future council. A measure passed by voters sets a community standard that any future data center must meet, regardless of who holds office.
La Pine sits in Central Oregon's dark-sky corridor. Sunriver is Oregon's first International Dark Sky Place; Prineville Reservoir is the state's first Dark Sky Park. The lighting limits meet what DarkSky International recommends, including its current 2200 K color-temperature guidance.
The Dalles spent 13 months in court to disclose Google's water use in 2022. An annual public report makes resource use a known number, before the facility is built, not years later in court.
Chandler, AZ; Loudoun and Prince William, VA; Port Washington, WI (66% in favor); and Seattle (9–0 council vote to pause large data centers) have all acted. La Pine's measure is the most moderate answer: clear standards instead of a freeze.
Oregon initiative law requires wet signatures from registered La Pine voters. Sign up below and we'll let you know when and where to sign. That's the whole ask.
We'll send you dates, times, and locations for in-person signing events. One email at a time.
