This week’s lead story: St. Charles, Missouri, has become the first U.S. city to enact a citywide moratorium on data centers. The one-year ban underscores a growing wave of data center community resistance that has already stalled or stopped more than $64 billion in projects across 24 states. At the same time, in Arizona, Project Blue has resurfaced — Beale Infrastructure is pressing ahead in Pima County even after Tucson blocked water access and residents […]
Fifth Point of Presence in Toronto will provide additional connectivity options to enterprises throughout Ontario TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hurricane Electric, the world’s largest IPv6-native Internet backbone announced today that it has deployed a new Point of Presence (PoP) in Coloware YTZ-1 data center. The new PoP is located at 151 Front Street, Suite 504, Toronto, ON, M5J 2N1, Canada. Coloware YTZ-1 is located in Canada’s largest and most interconnected carrier hotel, with access to hundreds of providers and TorIX, […]
This week’s Zoning In highlights how community opposition is evolving from town halls to the ballot box. In Georgia, a newly formed Political Action Committee is targeting pro–data center commissioners, signaling that opposition groups are sharpening their tools to influence not just projects, but politics itself. Across the country, we also saw projects delayed, withdrawn, or re-zoned amid protests in Virginia, Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, and Missouri. Meanwhile, watchdogs and regulators are weighing in on the […]
This week’s Zoning In roundup underscores a growing reality: the U.S. data center boom is no longer just an industry story — it’s a political, environmental, and community flashpoint. From NASCAR country in North Carolina to the deserts of Arizona, rural Georgia, and booming Richmond, VA, projects are colliding with concerns over water, energy, noise, and land use. Local governments are tightening zoning codes, residents are organizing against mega-campuses, and states are rethinking incentives to […]
In a significant win for public opposition, the Tucson City Council unanimously killed Project Blue, a massive data center proposal shrouded in secrecy and dogged by environmental concerns. Despite efforts to rebrand the project as a responsible corporate neighbor, the community pushed back hard—and won. Tucson is now preparing new zoning regulations specifically targeting data center development. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, the late Dale Earnhardt’s widow, Teresa Earnhardt, has found herself in a different kind […]
From Virginia to Alabama to Delaware, opposition is forcing changes — and sometimes outright cancellations — of major projects. This week’s Zoning In tracks efforts by local leaders, legislators, and residents to demand more transparency, limit environmental impacts, and rewrite zoning codes. Whether it’s grassroots victories in Pittsylvania County or looming policy shifts in Nevada and Maryland, the message is clear: communities want a seat at the table. Massive Virginia data center development drives debate […]
As temperatures continue to rise, so does the scrutiny surrounding the energy, water, and regulatory impacts of data center growth across North America. From Virginia’s AI-fueled power crunch to a proposed megacenter in Delaware that would consume nearly twice the electricity of all the state’s homes, this week’s Zoning In dives into a wave of resistance, policy shifts, and big-picture questions. With moratoriums mounting, nuclear reactors gaining traction, and transparency being tested, the data center […]
This week’s Zoning In highlights mounting community pushback from Alabama to Virginia, evolving state-level incentive policies, and renewed scrutiny on utility tariffs and water usage. Meanwhile, some jurisdictions—like Tucson and Janesville—are embracing digital infrastructure as a catalyst for long-term growth. From postponed billion-dollar votes and well water disputes to thoughtful strategies for building trust with communities, this week’s headlines capture the high stakes and growing pains of hyperscale expansion. Janesville Eyes Data Centers to Revitalize […]
As metro Atlanta experiences a historic surge in data center construction, local governments are starting to push back. DeKalb County, the latest jurisdiction to act, has enacted a 100-day moratorium on new data center development, joining a growing list of Georgia counties—Bartow, Coweta, Douglas—and the City of Atlanta itself, which banned data centers along the Beltline. Bisnow recently caught up with Milldam’s Adam Waitkunas to provide expert insight on the implications of this trend. “DeKalb’s […]
As the fireworks of Independence Day fade, the battle over data center development is heating up nationwide. From zoning restrictions in Phoenix and Hobart to sweeping moratoriums in Georgia and Kentucky, local governments are drawing more precise lines around where and how data centers can operate. Fueled by environmental concerns, infrastructure strain, and public mistrust, residents are pushing back—often successfully—against projects they view as disruptive or opaque. A new national poll confirms the trend: most […]
