This week’s roundup once again highlights an increasingly costly mistake for data center developers: waiting too long to meaningfully engage the public. The industry has been warned for years that engagement needs to begin early—before rumors spread, opposition organizes, and residents feel decisions are being made behind closed doors. Yet we continue to see developers arrive with completed plans, controlled announcements, and little meaningful outreach. Even more troubling, some projects that have already faced lawsuits, […]

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As we celebrate Independence Day and the principles of self-governance, this week’s Zoning In reflects a similar theme playing out across the country: communities are demanding a greater voice in shaping data center development. This week brought continued calls for moratoriums, lawsuits, protests, and greater transparency, along with San Marcos, Texas’ decision to ban data centers through its zoning code. We also saw the official end of Virginia’s long-running Digital Gateway project—a reminder that even […]

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Among the most notable developments in this week’s Zoning In is environmental activist Erin Brockovich launching a national map designed to track data center projects and community concerns, potentially giving local opposition groups both a centralized platform and a high-profile advocate. In New York, nearly 500 small business owners joined calls for greater oversight of the industry, further expanding the coalition of residents, environmental groups, and elected officials pushing for tighter scrutiny of data center […]

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