18 People Share Thoughts With Council About Data Centers
The Aberdeen City Council held a special meeting to gather community input on a proposed data center ordinance, receiving overwhelmingly negative feedback from 18 speakers. Residents voiced concerns about housing shortages, utility costs, noise, and environmental impacts, advocating for an extension of the current moratorium on data center permits. The council is drafting an ordinance with regulations due by the end of October.
The Aberdeen City Council convened a special meeting at the Aberdeen Civic Theatre to collect community feedback regarding a proposed ordinance that would govern data center operations. Out of 18 speakers, only one expressed support for data centers, while the rest raised significant concerns.
Key issues highlighted by residents included a housing shortage, exacerbated by an existing data center operated by Applied Digital 40 miles north in Ellendale, North Dakota, which houses many construction workers in Aberdeen. Speakers like Natalie Vernon, Clark Thares, and Brodie Mueller detailed the scarcity of affordable housing, with Mueller noting a loss of Section 8 housing and rising rents. The city currently has a moratorium on data center zoning permits until November 18, which many, including Vernon and Thares, advocated extending.
Further environmental and economic concerns were raised by multiple community members. Speakers worried about the high water and electricity consumption of data centers, potential water contamination, and increased utility rates. Ryan Clay, owner of One-Legged Pheasant, stated a hyper-scale data center could use eight times the electricity of Aberdeen's residential homes. Dawn Shepard, Marian Kallas, and others focused on noise pollution, including ambient, vibration, infrasound, and tonal noise, and advocated for studies by electrical or noise hygienists. Other concerns included land use, impact on wildlife, air pollution, light pollution, and even the psychological effects of AI.
While no specific data centers have been proposed for Aberdeen, the council is working to draft an ordinance with regulations to be considered by the end of October. Residents also questioned why the issue wouldn't be put to a public vote, a possibility if enough signatures are gathered. Deputy Mayor Alan Johnson clarified that the meeting was for information gathering, with no immediate action taken by the council.