Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Terrawolf Data Center topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears petition updates and discusses scheduling, DEC moratorium uncertainty
Summary
Town staff reported an 8,000-signature petition by Finger Lakes Strong concerning a data-center proposal and briefed the board on permits, scheduling and a pending statewide moratorium that could affect DEC permits; the board discussed meeting capacity and whether to use a special meeting or the school auditorium for large public hearings.
Town staff reported that a petition organized by Finger Lakes Strong—cited in the discussion as containing several thousand signatures concentrated near the proposed site—had been submitted to the town and would be placed in the shared comments folder for board review. Staff said an electronic version was expected and that the petition materials and related public comments had been uploaded for the board’s use.
Board members discussed whether the petition contained local signers and how many were within 20 miles of Lansing; staff said the petition’s geographic concentration is strongest near the site but that zip-code-based analysis does not map neatly to municipal boundaries.
Members also discussed a proposed statewide moratorium on new data-center permits. Staff said the board would circulate an attorney memo about the moratorium’s potential impacts; several board members noted that the moratorium language and schedule remained in flux and that they would not expect near-term action until the governor’s office finalizes the text. The board agreed it would wait to see the attorney’s formal guidance before taking any substantive steps.
On scheduling: because the application may generate large public attendance, the board discussed using a second monthly meeting and moving high-capacity hearings into the school auditorium with live-streaming to accommodate turnout and AV needs; staff proposed an August special meeting if an application arrives in time. The board asked that if a special meeting is established it be explicitly reserved for the large applicant (Terrawolf) to avoid displacing regular local business.
What happens next: staff will circulate petition documents and the attorney memo on moratorium language; if an application is submitted staff will confirm whether the board wants a special (second) monthly meeting and arrange the school auditorium for capacity and streaming.
