AN ORDINANCE AMENDMENT ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY TWELVE (12) MONTH MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN
WHEREAS: Data center development is increasing throughout Connecticut, the United States, and globally due to growing demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, telecommunications, data storage, and related digital infrastructure; and
WHEREAS: municipalities throughout Connecticut, including the Town of Groton, the Town of Morris, and the City of West Haven, have undertaken studies, regulatory reviews, adopted temporary moratoria, or otherwise considered land use regulations concerning data center development in order to evaluate the potential impacts of such facilities and develop appropriate zoning standards; and
WHEREAS: the Board of Alders has previously utilized temporary development moratoria as a planning tool to preserve the City's ability to evaluate and develop comprehensive land use policies and regulations; and
WHEREAS: data centers present unique land use, infrastructure, operational, environmental, economic development, and public safety considerations that may differ significantly from traditional commercial and industrial development; and
WHEREAS: data centers may involve substantial electrical demand, telecommunications infrastructure, cooling systems, backup power systems, water usage, security infrastructure, and other ancillary facilities and operations; and
WHEREAS: the City currently lacks use-specific zoning regulations governing the location, development, design, operation, and performance standards applicable to data centers; and
WHEREAS: the City requires sufficient time to study and evaluate the impacts of data center development and to develop appropriate zoning regulations governing such facilities; and
WHEREAS: development of data centers prior to the adoption of appropriate zoning regulations may impair the City's ability to ensure that such development is consistent with the V...
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