Lowell council refers proposed data-center moratorium to law, following residents’ safety and pollution concerns
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Summary
After multiple resident statements about diesel storage, air and noise impacts, the council voted to refer Councilor Scott’s temporary moratorium on permitting new or expanded data centers to the law department and DPD for zoning review and drafting.
Lowell’s city council voted on Jan. 21 to refer a proposed temporary moratorium on permitting new and expanded data centers to the city solicitor’s office and the Department of Planning and Development for drafting and review.
The moratorium motion, introduced by Councilor Kim Scott, seeks a pause on approvals "until zoning and planning regulations are updated" to include protections such as buffering, noise standards and limits on hazardous-material storage. Residents who live near the site operated by the Markley Group urged the council to explicitly include fuel storage and hazardous-material licenses in any moratorium.
Resident testimony: Mary Wambui, who identified her address as 668 Princeton Boulevard, told the council the Markley proposal included a plan to store 168,000 gallons of diesel and described the facility as a 50-megawatt operation, warning of the potential grid and household-bill impacts. Jonathan Grossman (local climate justice group) recommended community benefits agreements to protect neighborhoods. Eileen Castle, who said she lives immediately adjacent to the Markley site, described privacy and quality-of-life effects from cameras and operations and urged swift council action.
Council response and action: Councilors raised concerns about defining what legally counts as a "data center," the city’s lack of clear zoning standards specific to data centers, and the cumulative effects on water and electricity supply. Councilor Scott requested referral to the law department to draft a moratorium and for DPD to study appropriate zoning changes; the referral passed on roll call with 11 yes votes.
Next steps: The law department and DPD were asked to draft proposed language that clarifies the definition of "data center," whether ‘‘expanded facilities’’ includes fuel storage or hazardous-material licenses, and what triggers lifting any temporary moratorium. The council’s vote was to refer the matter for drafting and review, not to adopt final regulatory language.