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Residents urge zoning clarity as council considers data-center rules; opinions split on moratorium
Summary
During public comment, local business owner Brian Kelly urged the council to use zoning (and reject tax abatements) to manage data-center impacts; Brian Powell asked council to evaluate projects using modern data-center technology rather than impose a moratorium.
Two members of the public addressed council with opposing but policy-focused perspectives on data centers.
Brian Kelly, a long-term resident and local business owner, said zoning is the right tool for regulating potential impacts — noise, water usage, setbacks and buffering — and argued that data centers should not receive tax abatements. "I wanna be very clear, I do not believe any data center deserves any tax breaks," Kelly said while urging standards that hold developers accountable. He also said projects of sufficient scale can produce "millions of dollars" in tax revenue and referenced estimates near $8,000,000 annually.
Brian Powell urged council to rely on current data and technology when evaluating proposals, arguing that modern data centers use water and power more efficiently and incorporate sound mitigation. "The important point is that technology has changed," Powell said, adding that zoning standards are the appropriate mechanism to assess individual proposals rather than a blanket moratorium.
Both speakers asked council to use the public process and zoning code tools to balance community protection and economic opportunity; neither called for immediate formal action beyond council's planned reconvened meeting.
