Trumbull residents seek data center moratorium amid $100 million upgrade

Residents in Trumbull, Connecticut, are actively advocating for a one-year moratorium on new or expanded data centers within the town. An online petition, initiated by resident Sara Beck, has garnered over 1,460 signatures and requests a joint special meeting of the Town Council and Planning and Zoning Commission to thoroughly assess the potential consequences of data center development.

This push for a temporary ban emerges as 365 Data Centers, a cloud-focused data center provider, is set to become a long-term tenant at the existing 228,000-square-foot facility located at 80 Merritt Blvd., which is undergoing a modernization project. First Selectman Vicki Tesoro noted that the proposed upgrade pertains to a building already appropriately zoned, powered, and contributing to the town's tax base. 365 Data Centers is partnering with Florida-based Aphorio Carter, the data center real estate division of Carter Funds, for this and other high-density data center developments across the country. The local effort mirrors actions in other Connecticut communities that have adopted temporary data center bans while officials consider new regulatory frameworks.