Milldam Minute

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly

This week’s Zoning In highlights data center opposition shifting decisively beyond local zoning battles and into state policy arenas. As projects stall amid growing community backlash, governors and lawmakers are stepping in to recalibrate the rules. In Florida, the Project Tango fight highlights an unusual alignment between environmental advocates and Gov. Ron DeSantis around strengthening local authority and tightening siting standards for AI data centers. In Arizona, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ call to sunset data center […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam News

Happy New Year! This week’s Zoning In captures a pattern that’s no longer emerging—it’s now the baseline. Across the country, data center development is colliding with a more organized and politically savvy opposition, as well as a growing chorus of scrutiny from state and federal policymakers. From proposals that quietly stall after securing incentives, to jurisdictions pushing projects forward despite intense public opposition, the dynamic is clear: communities are demanding transparency, elected officials are chasing […]

Read More

Special Holiday Edition of Zoning In

Special Holiday Edition of Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam News

As we wrap up the year, we wish you a happy holiday season and a healthy, prosperous New Year. This abbreviated Holiday Edition of Zoning In includes year-end analysis from Adam Waitkunas on how data center community relations reached an inflection point in 2025—and what the industry must do differently in the year ahead. Data Center Community Engagement Comes of Age In 2025, community opposition to data center development crossed a critical threshold, evolving from […]

Read More

Data Center Community Engagement Comes of Age: Lessons from 2025, Imperatives for 2026

Data Center Community Engagement Comes of Age: Lessons from 2025, Imperatives for 2026

in Milldam Minute

Annual review of rising community resistance—and how developers can de-risk site selection, build trust, and move projects forward Adam Waitkunas 2025 marked a turning point in the relationship between data center development and the communities asked to host it. What was once treated as a niche land‑use issue became a national flashpoint, driven by rising public awareness, political scrutiny, and organized opposition. Between March and June alone, more than $98 billion in projects across the […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

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

This week’s Zoning In makes one thing clear: opposition to data center development is no longer just a local land-use fight; it’s becoming a durable political force that will carry straight into 2026. From city councils rejecting projects despite heavy lobbying to moratoria, lawsuits, recalls, and even candidate recruitment efforts explicitly aimed at stopping data centers, community pushback is reshaping elections and policy conversations at every level. What’s especially striking is how this resistance is […]

Read More

Milldam's Adam Waitkunas Attends 7x24 SoCal Holiday Party

Milldam’s Adam Waitkunas Attends 7×24 SoCal Holiday Party

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam News

Milldam’s Adam Waitkunas, a board member of the 7×24 Exchange Southern California Chapter, joined colleagues at last week’s 7×24 SoCal Holiday Party by the Marina in Huntington Beach, celebrating another successful year with the Southern California data center community. Looking ahead, the 7×24 SoCal Chapter is planning a strong slate of educational events in 2026, along with its popular annual charity golf tournament on March 30.

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly

This week’s Zoning In highlights how quickly the national conversation around AI infrastructure is shifting. Last night, Chandler made headlines with a unanimous vote rejecting a $2B AI data center after overwhelming community pushback. Next week, Nvidia will host a private summit to address the power shortages that are now slowing AI growth. Across the country, Palm Beach County has paused a major hyperscale proposal, Virginia lawmakers are moving to restrict siting and tax breaks, […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

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

This week’s Zoning In highlights how quickly pushback—and now litigation—is reshaping the data center landscape. National advocacy groups are assembling new legal tools to challenge AI facilities, as Amazon exits Tucson’s Project Blue, Michigan logs 5,000 public comments on a 1.4-GW power deal, and West Shreveport’s MPC rejects a 2.8-million-sq-ft campus. From Brandon, MS, to Hanover, VA, to Meta’s El Paso AI build, communities are demanding hard numbers on water, power, noise, and grid costs—and […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam News

This week’s Zoning In highlights a surge in oversight efforts — from Michigan environmental groups filing a case against a 1.4-GW proposal to Georgia adopting statewide review rules and Prince George’s County unveiling one of the most aggressive regulatory frameworks to date. Meanwhile, pushback remains strong in places like Wisconsin, Kansas City, and Essex, where residents are raising concerns around water use, rising utility rates, diesel emissions, and transparency. We also tracked several major flashpoints, […]

Read More

Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam News

This week delivered one of the sharpest warnings yet that the U.S. data center surge is meeting organized, highly effective community resistance. From Virginia to Georgia, officials are tightening zoning regulations, demanding water and power disclosures, and pausing approvals as residents push back against diesel generators, rising utility costs, and closed-door negotiations. In a major shift, the Virginia Court of Appeals halted all construction on the PW Digital Gateway pending a citizen-led legal challenge. And […]

Read More

1 2 3 4 5 … 20