Data Center Moratorium

At a glance

What: Article 20, a one-year moratorium on building permits for electronic data storage projects.
Where it stands: Planning Board favored a moratorium over other options; vote at the Special Town Meeting - October 27, 2026 (a zoning change, which generally needs two-thirds; inferred).
Next: staff aim for a bylaw with a clear definition by next fall's Town Meeting at the latest.

Staff said there is no clear definition of a data center, the state is expected to issue guidance by year end, and the town wants time before land is sold for one. A project proposed in Charlton was mentioned as background.
A year was chosen because a longer moratorium could look like a ban to state reviewers.

Eric Richards said the wording removed the existing definition and could literally cover routers and home or small-business equipment; staff said the intent is large facilities only.
Another member thought one year was too short and the town a likely target for water-rich sites.

State-level rules, including Executive Order 658 and a statewide list of local moratoriums and bylaws, are on Massachusetts Data Center Policy.

2026-11-06 - November 9 Select Board agenda lists a member request to start a data center bylaw for Town Meeting (follow-up to the one-year moratorium; the staff aim was a bylaw with a clear definition by next fall's Town Meeting).
2026-10-19 - Pre-Town Meeting - Article 20 questioned on breadth of definition and one-year length.
2026-10-21 - Page created.
2026-09-28 - 2026-09-28 - Select Board: Board discussion confirmed the Planning Board had held a hearing and endorsed the one-year moratorium. Kirrane moved and Rufli seconded a recommendation to approve Article 20, and the motion passed 4-0.
2026-09-23 - 2026-09-23 - Finance Committee: Finance Committee deferred Article 20 to the petitioner.
2026-09-21 - 2026-09-21 - Economic Development Committee: Dell'Aquila reported the Planning Board endorsed a moratorium rather than a ban, to allow study of other communities' bylaws.
2026-09-14 - Select Board - A resident in public comment called the proposed bylaw too broad.
2026-09-09 - Planning Board - Board voted to recommend a one-year moratorium and not to recommend the alternative ban (from auto-captions).
2026-08-20 - Economic Development Committee - Director previewed the September 8 Planning Board hearing (ban versus one-year moratorium) and recommended a moratorium; members asked for a precise definition of a data center (from auto-captions).