Recap: Hopkinton Council Adopts 60-Day Data Center Moratorium, Weighs Extension Past Election Day
The Hopkinton Town Council has adopted an emergency 60-day moratorium on data center applications and construction. This temporary ban allows the town to draft a permanent zoning amendment to regulate data centers, citing concerns about noise, light, air pollution, water consumption, and electrical grid demand. Council members are already discussing extending the emergency ordinance if the permanent amendment is not ready before its early November expiration.
The Hopkinton Town Council in Rhode Island has unanimously adopted an emergency ordinance imposing an immediate 60-day moratorium on all data center applications and construction within the town. The decision, made at a special meeting, aims to provide town agencies, including the Planning Department, Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Review, time to draft a permanent zoning amendment to regulate data center development.
The emergency ordinance, effective immediately, defines data centers broadly while specifically excluding server rooms accessory to other uses. The findings cited by the council for the moratorium include concerns about noise, light, air pollution, high water consumption for cooling, and significant demand on the electrical grid, which could raise utility costs. The ordinance also noted that Hopkinton residents largely rely on wells and local groundwater, and existing land use rules predate the widespread development of data centers.
Town attorney advised the council that the emergency ordinance, adopted under Section 3220 of the town's home rule charter, is on solid legal ground, citing a similar moratorium upheld by the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Council members discussed the timeline, noting the 61st day of the moratorium falls in early November, close to the November 3rd election. They considered extending the emergency ordinance at a late-October meeting if the permanent amendment, which requires a planning board recommendation and an advertised public hearing, is not ready in time. The planning board had previously intended to address the data center prohibition but faced a quorum issue in August.