Milldam Monthly

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly

Ferguson Lawsuit Alleges Fake Online Campaign to Secure Data Center Tax Breaks A former employee alleges attorney and developer James Onder orchestrated a campaign using bots, fabricated comments and exaggerated crime stories to influence support for his Ferguson, Missouri, data center. The allegations, which Onder declined to address through his attorneys, come as residents pursue a referendum challenging the project’s approved tax breaks. Georgia Residents Sue OpenAI, Alleging Secrecy and Racketeering in Data Center Deal […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly

This week’s Zoning In features more federal and local political coverage than usual as the industry assesses the midterm results and their implications for data center development. Among the standout pieces: Bisnow’s examination of new development hurdles, calls for a national moratorium, and Minnesota races where community opposition helped unseat incumbents. Election Day didn’t reset the debate, it gave community concerns additional political weight. For developers and the broader ecosystem of utilities, suppliers, and investors, […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly, Milldam News

This week’s Zoning In follows data center disputes from council chambers to the ballot box. Ohio voters will decide 21 local data center ballot issues, while San Diego unanimously approved a development moratorium and protests forced Hermantown to postpone votes on Google’s proposed campus. In Wisconsin, a $15 billion project is dividing Port Washington over competing visions of the community’s future. Additionally, bipartisan organizing, growing youth involvement and calls for enforceable community benefits underscore the […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly, Milldam News

This week’s Zoning In covers Archbald, Pennsylvania’s unanimous rejection of a 14-building campus, a 14,800-signature petition seeking a data center referendum in Georgia, and bans or moratoriums across more than 100 New Jersey communities. In California, local restrictions continue to spread despite new state protections, while Georgia’s utility commission races put data center power costs squarely on the ballot. From school board opposition to lawsuits over alleged well contamination, communities are demanding more influence over […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly, Milldam News

This week’s Zoning In highlights just how quickly the regulatory landscape around data centers is changing. California enacted a sweeping seven-bill package covering environmental review, energy, water, utility costs and land use, with Mayer Brown providing an excellent analysis of what the new laws mean for the industry. Virginia also introduced a new Data Center Accountability Framework, while new moratoriums and restrictions advanced in communities across Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado and Kentucky. Microsoft goes quiet after […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly, Milldam News

This week’s Zoning In shows just how quickly the data center debate is moving from community concern to concrete political and regulatory action. California enacted seven new data center laws, Texas expanded its permitting pause, Prince William County ended new by-right development, and communities from Chicago and Oakland to Colorado, Oregon and New Hampshire are considering or adopting moratoriums. Maryland, meanwhile, is building community engagement, transparency and community benefits directly into its statewide review framework. […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly, Milldam News

This week’s Zoning In shows just how quickly the rules around data center development are changing. From moratoriums and rejected projects to lawsuits, tougher NDA policies, and new requirements around community benefits, public opposition is increasingly driving public policy. Massachusetts may offer a glimpse of what comes next, with new rules requiring community benefit agreements and effectively giving host communities a greater say over whether projects move forward. Unless the industry takes the bull by […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly, Milldam News

This week’s Zoning In shows how quickly data center opposition is moving beyond local zoning fights and becoming a financial, political, and industry-wide risk. Banks and investors are beginning to factor in community resistance, project delays, and even uncertainty about long-term AI demand into financing decisions, while Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel publicly acknowledged the growing pushback. At the same time, President Trump’s criticism of data center opponents drew bipartisan rebukes in Kentucky, and voters […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Monthly

From small-town Maine to Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada, communities across the country are hitting the brakes on data center development with moratoriums, tougher regulations and, in some cases, outright bans. Pennsylvania’s sweeping new requirements around transparency, community engagement, infrastructure costs and community benefits are particularly significant — turning many of the practices once considered industry “best practices” into formal expectations and mandates. Perhaps most notable, however, is how quickly the issue is moving beyond zoning […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly, Milldam News

Things continue to heat up for the data center industry, with this week’s headlines showing community opposition evolving into a much broader financial, political and regulatory challenge. Reuters reports that lenders are now factoring community support into financing decisions, while major projects face lawsuits in Missouri and Georgia, a gigawatt-scale development was withdrawn outside Atlanta, and Chicago and San Antonio are considering new moratoriums. The political pressure is also becoming harder to ignore. All three […]

Read More

1 2 3 … 8