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 […]
Milldam News
Milldam Public Relations Offers Complimentary Data Center Community Engagement Workshop
Share One-hour in-person or remote session provides data center developers, operators, engineering firms and industry partners with practical strategies for navigating community engagement, local media relations, and community benefit agreements BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Milldam Public Relations, a leading strategic communications and community engagement firm specializing in the digital infrastructure sector, today announced the availability of a complimentary, one-hour Data Center Community Engagement Workshop designed to help organizations navigate the growing challenges surrounding community engagement, media scrutiny and […]
Milldam’s Adam Waitkunas Joins NewsNation to Discuss Data Center Community Engagement and $10,000 Resident Offer
Adam Waitkunas recently joined NewsNation to discuss the growing community debate surrounding data center development, including a controversial proposal in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, where a developer has offered $10,000 to eligible households if its proposed data center project moves forward. The offer is part of a broader community benefits package that includes $45 million in direct household payments, $15 million for community programs and $105 million for township services. During the segment, Adam discussed why […]
Zoning In
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. […]
Zoning In
This week’s Zoning In points to a more challenging environment for data center development — and especially community engagement. The headline number is hard to ignore: a new UMass Amherst poll found that just 11% of Americans support an AI data center in their community, while 65% oppose one. Perhaps more significant, that opposition cuts across political and demographic lines and is driven largely by tangible local concerns around natural resources, land use, disruption and […]
Zoning In
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 […]
Zoning In
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 […]
Zoning In
This week’s Zoning In is another reminder that data center projects are increasingly being judged not only on their own merits, but on the missteps of projects hundreds of miles away. NDAs, poor communication, noise complaints and permitting disputes are feeding a broader narrative of distrust — and that baggage can follow developers into a community before a project is even introduced. At the same time, opposition groups are sharing tactics, hiring attorneys, holding their […]
Milldam Public Relations’ Adam Waitkunas to Lead ACEC Training on Data Center Community Engagement
90-Minute Data Center Community Relations Session Will Cover Media Relations, Community Benefit Agreements, Town Hall Strategy, and Other Tools for Navigating Public Engagement BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Milldam Public Relations, a leading public relations and community engagement firm specializing in the digital infrastructure space, today announced that its President, Adam Waitkunas in collaboration with the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), will host a 90-minute virtual training session on August 21 from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. EST, focused on helping […]
Zoning In
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 […]






