When data center development is put on hold, community engagement shouldn’t be. Developers who use the time to build relationships, address concerns, and work with local officials can turn a setback into an opportunity. By Adam Waitkunas When a community imposes a moratorium on data center development, many developers’ instinct is to put everything on hold, keep a low profile, and wait for the restrictions to expire. Others may turn immediately to legal action. While […]
This week’s Zoning In highlights several major developments, including a proposed three-year statewide moratorium in Virginia, new restrictions in Maryland and Delaware, and a legal challenge to a $35 billion project in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, nearly $87 million has been spent on political ads mentioning data centers ahead of the midterms, and a new report estimates Georgia schools could lose $300 million this year due to data center tax exemptions. From heated town halls to lawsuits […]
This week’s Zoning In highlights some significant developments in the growing pushback against data center expansion. A new Heatmap Pro analysis estimates that more than $260 billion in planned data center investments have been canceled in 2026 amid local opposition, while another $1 trillion faces meaningful resistance. Meanwhile, San Francisco and Raleigh approved new moratoriums, Hillsboro, Oregon, is considering zoning changes that would dramatically restrict future development, and Mahomet, Illinois, abandoned discussions with a developer […]
The midterms may be amplifying the data center debate, but the industry shouldn’t mistake an election-year spotlight for the source of the backlash. By Adam Waitkunas At nearly every data center conference I attend lately, I hear some version of the same prediction: Once the midterm elections are over, the temperature around data centers will come down. I wouldn’t count on it. There is no question that data centers have become a political issue in […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
As lenders scrutinize community opposition, developers may increasingly need to demonstrate community readiness before securing capital By: Romi Blackstone For years, community engagement in data center development was largely viewed as a public affairs issue. Developers needed to explain their projects. Residents needed an opportunity to ask questions. Local officials needed to understand the economic benefits. And communications professionals were brought in to help navigate the conversation. But that equation is changing. As opposition to […]
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 […]
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 […]
