Hillsboro City Council to discuss data center growth ahead of statewide moratorium
The Hillsboro City Council is holding a high-stakes meeting to discuss the city's data center boom, driven by a surge of applications for tax incentives. This comes ahead of a state-imposed moratorium on new data center tax breaks, which takes effect in June. Community activists continue to raise concerns about land use and job creation.
The Hillsboro City Council is set to convene a high-stakes work session to address the rapid expansion of data centers within the city. This meeting is prompted by a recent surge of 17 applications for enterprise zone tax exemptions, submitted just weeks before a statewide moratorium on new data center tax breaks takes effect on June 6.
Mayor Beach Pace confirmed that the city ceased accepting new applications after May 7 to ensure existing requests could be processed. She emphasized that the city is mandated to approve these tax abatements if developers meet state requirements. The moratorium, enacted by Oregon lawmakers, follows years of contention over data center growth, with critics like activist Dirk Knudsen arguing that these facilities consume valuable industrial land without generating sufficient high-paying jobs.
Knudsen advocates for additional measures beyond the moratorium, pushing for data centers to contribute taxes comparable to companies like Intel and Nike. Conversely, Mayor Pace highlighted the economic benefits derived from data centers, citing their contributions to public amenities such as community centers, fire stations, and playgrounds. The City Council will deliberate on the broader impacts of data center development, tax incentive policies, and future land-use planning.