GREENFIELD — The same day Gov. Maura Healey enacted an executive order barring state permitting agencies from allowing the construction of new data centers without approval from local municipalities, the Greenfield Economic Development Committee voted to recommend the City Council pass a one-year moratorium on data center construction.
Under executive order 658, which Healey signed into law on Tuesday, data centers will need a community benefits agreement with the host community that meets state standards before moving forward with any state permitting processes. Any project proposed to exceed 25 megawatts must demonstrate compliance with the state frameworks for Responsible Data Center Development and Operations, which requires usage of clean energy, fund its own infrastructure, and does not compromise water supply, air quality or public health.
Healey’s order states that no data centers can be constructed in the state unless the municipality a data center company is looking to build in gives authorization, which in Greenfield, will not happen for at least a year if the City Council votes to adopt the moratorium proposed by Precinct 7 Councilor Sarah Bolduc.
The moratorium would task the Greenfield Planning Board with reviewing current zoning codes and regulations; developing a body of research on any impacts these facilities have on the community, public safety, city infrastructure and adjacent infrastructure; and consider the impact, if any, to area wildlife and natural resources. If the board is unable to put forth recommendations in that time, the council can extend the moratorium by 180 days, during which time the council would have to draft its own changes to the zoning regulations.
Last week, the Greenfield Planning Board voted 4-1 to recommend the council adopt the moratorium, and on Sept. 8, members of the Economic Development Committee (EDC) voted 4-0 to recommend the moratorium. At-Large Councilor and EDC member Wahab Minhas was absent and did not vote, but did voice support for the measure at last week’s Planning Board meeting.
EDC members said that they were in support of the moratorium, as it would provide time to figure out how to assess any data centers that could be proposed in the future, and what the approval process should look like in Greenfield.
“This isn’t an outright ban,” Precint 3 Councilor Ann Dillemuth said. “This is a chance to see whether it’s appropiate or not.”
Planning Board Chair Jeff Sauser said the board has not yet determined what the next year would look like if the council passes the moratorium, but noted that the board wanted to specifically look at land use questions, and how to measure impact on the environment.
EDC Chair John Garrett said that while the board may want to avoid politics, data centers have become a very political topic, and encouraged a public input session where residents can share what they would want to see in regulations on data centers.
Precinct 2 Councilor Rachel Gordon added that nationwide discourse could help build the regulations, and the board should look regulations used in other communities.
If passed by the full City Council next week, Greenfield would join a growing number of cities and towns across the nation placing pauses on the construction of data centers. In June, Holyoke became the first Massachusetts community to enact a citywide ban on AI data centers, and the city of New Bedford is considering a data center ban to allow for updates to its existing zoning rules on data centers.
Northampton and Easthampton are eyeing moratoriums, and at it’s annual town meeting in May, the town of Mansfield became the first to adopt a comphrehensive bylaw regulating data centers.
“There are so many communitites passing some version of a moratorium or an outright ban right now based on a lot of different factors,” Gordon said. “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel on this.”
