Agawam City Council President Anthony Russo explains the reasoning behind implementing a data center moratorium.
Photo credit: Agawam Media
AGAWAM — The Agawam City Council unanimously approved the first reading of a moratorium on data centers, the computer server farms that supportive data-intensive technology, such as artificial intelligence.
Mayor Christopher Johnson explained that the moratorium, which was sponsored by himself and City Council President Anthony Russo, was designed to give the city time to research data centers and create an ordinance that would protect Agawam. To his knowledge, he emphasized, there were no developers interested in building a data center in the city. However, he said, “The commonwealth is out there actively soliciting them to come to Massachusetts.”
The moratorium would last 270 days, with the option of a 90-day extension, if approved by the council. He said the definition in the moratorium was “sufficiently broad” to cover any prospective projects.
Russo said the city was acting proactively by creating a moratorium. As he understood the situation, Agawam is not currently a desirable location for a data center, he said, adding that developers look for municipalities that own their water source and electric and internet utilities. However, he said, “Things change.” Russo said the council would speak with experts in various related fields before drafting an ordinance governing data centers.
Johnson urged the councilors not to “poison the water” by publicly expressing whether they were or were not in favor of data centers. Councilor Peter McNair similarly cautioned his colleagues to avoid statements which could be used by developers to appeal future siting decisions.
Councilor Christine Rickmon suggested a highly transparent process with frequent public updates on the information the council gathers and the drafting of the ordinance. Russo said that would require the council to issue incomplete information “every other minute.” Instead, he envisioned a public workshop during the drafting process.
Councilor Robert Rossi said he was in favor of a moratorium but was skeptical that developers would choose Agawam as a site. “There seems to be a statewide push against them,” he said. He added that the public’s involvement was essential. Councilor George Bitzas said many other municipalities have enacted similar moratoriums, and Councilor Edward Borgatti praised the forward-looking initiative.
During public hearing on the matter, several residents spoke in favor of the moratorium. None were opposed. Uduak Enyiema said enacting a moratorium prior to a developer filing an application “puts Agawam in a strong position.” However, she had questions about the regulations that would be put in place to protect the city once the moratorium ended.
Diane Arventos said that she did not know much about the data centers, except that they used a lot of water. “Water is precious … to use it on a data center would be criminal,” she said. She also expressed concern about the noise they would generate.
Dennis Doroshencko said a moratorium would be “prudent and crucial” ahead of interest from potential developers. Catherine McDougal, Corinne Wingard and three others lent their support to the moratorium.
