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 […]
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 Across the country, we also saw projects delayed, withdrawn, or re-zoned amid protests in Virginia, Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, and Missouri.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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
First Point of Presence in Kentucky brings robust of IP transit to the Southeast PADUCAH, Ky.–(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 Quad State Internet PAH1 data center. The new PoP is located at 1212 Helen St., Paducah KY 42001, United States. Quad State Internet PAH1 enables direct local internet access for over 15 million end users in a 225-mile radius including […]
This week’s Zoning In highlights just how rapidly the data center landscape is shifting—both in policy and public perception. From Virginia to California, state and local governments are tightening oversight, adding new zoning restrictions, and questioning whether data centers deliver enough community benefit to justify their scale and resource demands. In Virginia, multiple counties are now requiring special use permits, economic impact studies, and infrastructure assessments before approving new facilities. Meanwhile, states like New Jersey […]
The community relations battles and policy debates around U.S. data centers continue to accelerate — and the headlines are getting louder. This week’s Zoning In roundup brings one of our most diverse sets of stories yet: from a WIRED feature on how federal AI legislation may undermine local control over where data centers get built, to Dale Earnhardt’s widow facing nearly 200 protesting neighbors in North Carolina over her plan to redevelop Mooresville land into […]
From Indiana to California, developers and policymakers are navigating a wave of proposals driven by AI and hyperscale growth. Some regions, like Kansas and Indiana, are embracing the boom with new tax incentives and multi-billion-dollar investments from major tech players. However, local resistance is also intensifying: residents in Virginia, West Virginia, and Georgia are voicing concerns over noise, water usage, and environmental disruption, pressuring local leaders to slow down or reconsider projects altogether. On the […]
