Cambridge enacts one-year moratorium on data centers
The Cambridge City Council has enacted a one-year moratorium on data center applications to allow the city time to develop appropriate zoning requirements. Mayor Lajan Cephas-Bey emphasized the need for proactive planning, influenced by public opposition to a previous data center proposal in a neighboring area. City staff are now tasked with producing draft recommendations within this period.
The Cambridge City Council unanimously enacted a one-year moratorium on data center development within the city. This measure establishes a yearlong pause on the processing, review, and approval of any data center-related applications or permits, with the goal of providing the city sufficient time to study the issue and create "reasonable, lawful zoning requirements and other regulations" to safeguard public health, safety, and welfare.
Mayor Lajan Cephas-Bey introduced the resolution, clarifying she was not "anti-data center" but stressed the importance of proactive preparation to understand how data centers could either benefit or harm Cambridge before any proposals emerge. The discussion was partly prompted by a previous data center proposal in Federalsburg, which generated public opposition and led other jurisdictions on the Eastern Shore to consider similar moratoriums. Commissioner Brian Roche successfully amended the resolution to formally require city staff to produce draft recommendations or guidelines within the 12-month moratorium period, addressing the current lack of a defined use for data centers in the city's planning and zoning code.