This week, the data center backlash picked up an unlikely amplifier: Comedian Charlie Berens, who is headlining a citizen-led town hall opposing a proposed facility in Beaver Dam, WI. It’s a signal that what were once niche zoning fights are spilling into the broader public conversation. Elsewhere, the pressure kept building — Birmingham imposed a pause on new applications, a major project collapsed in Apex, Missouri, residents protested a closed-door meeting, and lawmakers from Ohio […]
This week’s Zoning In underscores a credibility problem the industry can’t afford: when developers skip town halls (Denver) or table hearings at the last minute because filings aren’t ready (Pacific, MO; Upper Macungie, PA), the takeaway in the room isn’t “process”—it’s avoidance, and it hardens suspicion that projects are moving faster than the facts. Meanwhile, grassroots coalitions are rallying and litigating (Farmington; Columbia County), and local governments are moving quickly on moratoriums and tighter zoning. […]
By Adam Waitkunas When it comes to data center development, most projects are not decided by the loudest critics. They are decided by the middle. In nearly every market, there is a segment that will oppose large infrastructure projects on principle. There is also a segment — often business leaders, trades, and technology-aligned residents — that tends to be supportive. But outcomes frequently hinge on the persuadable middle: homeowners, parents, small business owners, civic volunteers […]
Welcome to this week’s edition of Zoning In. The biggest signals this week came from San Marcos rejecting a $1.5B rezoning after a marathon public hearing, Illinois Gov. Pritzker proposing a two-year pause on new data center tax credits, and a broader tightening of the rules of engagement, from Washington’s push for stronger utility/ratepayer protections to Minnesota’s one-year ban and small towns like Columbiana, AL, codifying stricter zoning standards. At the same time, the process […]
This week’s Zoning In shows the data center debate moving decisively from city halls to statehouses. New York lawmakers introduced a three-year moratorium to study grid, ratepayer, and water impacts—while other states are floating similar “pause and prove it” approaches. Referendums (Janesville), lawsuits (Hobart), and even NDA backlash in Michigan signal that process and transparency are now just as combustible as power and water. At the local level, timelines and trust are everything. Fermi’s permitting […]
A guide to planning effective community information and listening sessions By Adam Waitkunas In today’s permitting climate, a data center town hall isn’t just an information session. It’s a pressure test. It’s often the first time residents meet the people behind a project—and the first time rumors, fears, and assumptions collide with facts in the same room. We’ve seen plenty of projects where a poorly planned meeting accelerated opposition, fueled headlines, and hardened positions overnight. […]
This week’s Zoning In shows the data center debate continuing to shift into a more overtly political phase. From Sand Springs to Monterey Park, communities are signaling that opposition is no longer just about individual projects. It’s about process, trust, and transparency, with residents increasingly willing to escalate fights beyond planning boards and into ballot measures, recalls, and sustained organizing. Across markets, three forces keep converging: local control, fiscal exposure, and infrastructure accountability. Cities are […]
A Guide for Managing PR During Litigation By Adam Waitkunas When a data center project becomes the subject of litigation, whether over zoning, environmental review, utilities, or land use, the instinct inside many organizations is to go quiet. “No comment.” “Let legal handle it.” “Freeze everything.” While caution is warranted, silence is rarely neutral. Litigation does not pause the public conversation and, more often than not, it intensifies it. Neighbors organize. Social media fills the […]
This week’s Zoning In highlights a troubling pattern playing out across multiple markets: projects are making headlines long before they ever reach the community microphone. From Monterey Park and DeKalb County to Lowell Township, Spartanburg County, and Imperial County, residents are showing up angry—not because data centers exist, but because they’ve been reading about proposed projects in the press for months—sometimes more than a year—before a single town hall, briefing, or listening session ever occurred. […]
If anyone thought data center pushback might cool off in 2026, this week’s Zoning In points the other way: resistance is spreading, sharpening, and moving upstream into policy. Across the country, residents are packing hearings, organizing faster, and pressing officials to act earlier—while cities and counties respond with moratoria, zoning rewrites, stricter siting rules, and new requirements. Notably, private equity is now being pulled directly into the opposition narrative—including in a letter to the editor […]
