The Town Council unanimously agreed last week to enact a 180-day moratorium on the construction of data centers in town.
The 4-0 vote at the Oct. 13 council meeting, with Vice Chair Mallory Cook absent, immediately followed a public hearing on the data center moratorium at which only one resident spoke. Pat Robinson, of Brattle Street, voiced support for the moratorium.
The pause on data center development applies retroactively to July 14, 2026, and will conclude Jan. 10, 2027.
The July starting date was selected “to negate any (data center) projects in the works,” according to Interim Town Manager Jennifer Janelle
The State, which must approve moratoriums on data centers, can approve another 180-day moratorium if the town can “demonstrate progress in developing a data center policy,” said Janelle.
According to Council Chair John James, the moratorium is considered necessary because the town’s comprehensive plan, land use ordinances, regulations and policies are inadequate to prevent potential harm posed by data centers.
The moratorium applies to data centers that are 10,000 square feet or larger, noted Planning Board member Tony Palazzetti, in attendance at the meeting.
The council vote comes after a Sept. 16 Planning Board public hearing on the data center issue. The council had originally proposed a prohibition on centers 100,000 square feet or larger, but the Planing Board reduced the specified size by 90% after members noted it is unlikely a data center in South Berwick would be as large as that.
