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Planning Board flags data‑center concerns and schedules ordinance workshop after Supreme Court camping ruling
Summary
Board members raised concerns about data centers' energy and water impacts and said they will monitor state legislation; staff also scheduled an ordinance workshop to review updates including the public‑camping ordinance after a June 24 Supreme Court decision limiting municipal bans without available shelter.
Board members raised citizen concerns about data centers and agreed the Planning Board and staff should monitor state legislative activity and convene workshops as needed. A member noted data centers are high energy users and sometimes sited near water for cooling, and said some communities have recently received proposals for large facilities at old mill sites.
"They are a high energy user...and then the other piece is they create heat and require a cooling component," a board member said while raising the topic for staff awareness. Staff pledged to track legislation and share updates with the board.
Separately, staff and the board scheduled an ordinance workshop to review a set of proposed updates. Town planning staff cited a June 24 Supreme Court decision affecting public camping language: the court ruled municipalities may not ban public camping unless adequate shelter space is available, which could expose a municipal public‑camping ban to legal challenge in its current form. Staff recommended legal review and additional discussion at the workshop to reconcile local ordinance language with the court ruling.
Board members asked staff to coordinate with MMA and the town attorney as part of the review; staff said they would gather input and include attorney feedback before forwarding ordinances for Select Board consideration and potential town meeting placement.
