Town Meeting debates line between balanced and exclusionary Industrial Park zoning

Southborough, Massachusetts held its Annual Town Meeting, where significant debate surrounded proposed Industrial Park zoning changes, particularly those affecting data centers. The Planning Board, led by Vice Chair Marnie Hoolahan, advocated for an overhaul of the IP zone to attract commercial development while mitigating potential negative impacts on natural resources and residential areas. Their proposal included increasing setbacks from 50 ft to 100 ft for projects abutting residential/conservation districts, but significantly to 1,000 feet for "Small Clean Energy Infrastructure" and Data Centers, along with a size cap of 50,000 sq ft for data centers. A key amendment was proposed by Sam Stivers, who sought to remove the extra setback for data centers and double the maximum size to 100,000 sq ft, arguing that the Planning Board's restrictions would deter potential businesses and that data centers provide valuable tax revenue with minimal impact on services or traffic. Stivers highlighted a current data center in town generating over $600,000 annually in taxes. Hoolahan, however, rebutted, emphasizing a cautious approach due to the unknown impacts of "AI scale facilities," which operate at dramatically higher electrical loads and rely more on liquid cooling compared to traditional data centers. She stressed that zoning serves as a risk management tool to anticipate impacts before they become permanent. Another amendment, introduced by Jon Green, aimed for even more stringent restrictions, proposing a 2,000 ft setback for *any* IP project abutting residential or conservation zones. This was argued to be "exclusionary zoning" by Hoolahan and others, who deemed it disproportionate and unworkable. Concerns raised during the debate included data center impacts on water and electricity rates, heat and noise generation, and the limited job creation. Both Stivers' and Green's amendments failed, with Stivers' amendment failing 50 in favor to 73 opposed, and Green's motion receiving no support. The original Article, containing the Planning Board's proposed zoning changes for the Industrial Park, ultimately passed by a vote of 90 to 32 (73%) and will now be forwarded to the Attorney General's office for legal vetting.