Politics & Government
Salem City Council Moves To Ban Data Centers, Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers
The ban on data centers moves back to committee ahead of a second vote for full passage.
SALEM, MA — The Salem City Council on Thursday voted a first passage of a zoning ordinance to ban data centers with an aggregate energy demand of two megawatts or higher as the city races to put rules in place ahead of any more petitions to open the controversial centers in the Witch City.
The move comes as Prime, the developer of the Shetland property, sought to include what Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo, the City Council and the Zoning Board of Appeals determined was a data center in that development.
Pangallo proposed the specific ban on data centers in response to the attempt that Prime officials argued was merely adding capacity infrastructure for local companies and not the construction of a large data center, the likes of which have become a flashpoint of debate surrounding the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and energy consumption in recent months.
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Pangallo cited the city's size, density and economic viability...