Milton council to pursue moratorium on data centers

Milton Town Council has decided to pursue a moratorium on data centers in lieu of an outright ban.

At its Nov. 2 meeting, council discussed a resolution that would ban data centers in all town zoning districts. Vice Mayor Lee Revis-Plank proposed the resolution, which would have set a public hearing for Monday, Jan. 4. She said it was an effort to hear what the public thinks on the issue of data centers.

Mayor John Collier said data centers aren’t a permitted use in the zoning code now, so why would the town write a prohibition? Town Solicitor Seth Thompson said it could be done if an applicant sought a conditional or special use, unless it was specifically prohibited.

Collier said he was neither for or against data centers but wanted to see the issue analyzed in a bit more depth.

Councilman Robert Gray agreed, saying a prohibition is the last step along the line of actions council could take. He said at this time, neither council nor the planning and zoning commission has looked at the issue. Gray said he believed the comprehensive development plan would be the best vehicle to address data centers, as there are no areas large enough to have a data center as the town exists today without annexation.

Data centers, most associated with the growth of artificial intelligence but also used for various forms of information technology such as cloud computing, have been a hot-button issue around the United States, mostly for the amount of power a data center needs to operate. That power generates heat, which requires the data center to be cooled, typically using a water chiller. The water used to chill large-scale data centers can run in the millions of gallons per day. However, some data centers are starting to use treated wastewater for cooling instead of municipal water.

Data centers can also produce a lot of noise. Revis-Plank’s original resolution cited the demand on the electrical grid, water resources and public utilities, as well as noise from cooling fans and backup generators.

“I do think it's prudent to look into a moratorium," said Councilman Scotty Edler. "I would like to see a moratorium of at least one year to give planning and zoning enough time to address this through the comprehensive plan.”

Thompson added the state could also impose additional regulations on data centers.

Because planning and zoning is already busy with the update on the comprehensive plan in addition to its usual case load, council decided to amend Revis-Plank’s resolution to set a two-year moratorium, which would allow for a public hearing Jan. 4, but also put the matter on planning and zoning’s plate.

Milton council to pursue moratorium on data centers

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