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Regbase

The Data Center Divide

City of Bangor

This restriction takes precedence while in effect. The rating below excludes temporary restrictions.

Neutral Data Center Policies

Bangor has enacted a 180-day pause on accepting or approving applications to build, expand, or operate data centers; the description nevertheless says “if enacted.” It is temporary, not a permanent ban on existing centers.

Rating from Maine statewide as there are no scored current or future laws outside temporary restrictions for City of Bangor.

current law · City of Bangor
Prohibits Bangor from accepting or approving applications, permits, or approvals for data center establishment, construction, expansion, or operation for up to 180 days while the City develops regulations.Maine Ordinance 26-138 (2026) — Moratorium Ordinance on Data Centers in the City of Bangor

What this means

If enacted, this would impose a 180-day moratorium and stop the City from accepting or approving applications tied to building, expanding, or operating data centers. That is a substantial temporary barrier, though it is not a permanent ban on existing data centers.

Timing

Ends
The effective date of the necessary zoning and land-use amendments or 180 days after adoption, whichever occurs earlier.

The ordinance imposes an immediate moratorium on applications, permits, approvals, and related proceedings for data centers. It also states that the moratorium is repealed 180 days after adoption, subject to the severability clause.

People behind it

  • Proposed and enacted the ordinances, orders, and resolves appearing on the agenda.

  • Councilor assigned to administer or present multiple measures, including property sales, airport funding, zoning, HIV services, and voter-registration matters.

  • Councilor assigned to administer or present measures concerning property, quitclaim deeds, and sidewalk-obstruction licensing.

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  • Councilor assigned to administer or present measures concerning property sales, criminal-forfeiture funds, and the data-center moratorium.

  • Councilor assigned to administer or present measures concerning quitclaim deeds, airport equipment, and immigration-related municipal policy.

  • Councilor assigned to administer or present measures concerning a quitclaim deed and the purchase of a new ambulance.

  • Councilor assigned to administer or present measures concerning criminal-forfeiture funds, syringe-waste services, HIV services, nutrition education, and election clerks.

  • Councilor assigned to administer or present measures concerning the municipal vehicle-wash system and federally designated spending applications.

  • Authorized to administer or execute numerous measures, including purchases, grants, contracts, appropriations, and program agreements.

  • Finance Director authorized to execute municipal quitclaim deeds releasing the City's interests in specified properties.

  • Contracting organization responsible for implementing the City's syringe-waste program under a memorandum of understanding.

  • Funding organization providing $80,000 for outpatient early-intervention services related to HIV disease.

  • Funding and implementing organization providing $426,533 for the Rural Health Transformation Program nutrition-education program.

  • Applicant proposing the rezoning of a portion of the property at 355 Maine Avenue.

  • Owner of record for the property involved in the proposed 355 Maine Avenue rezoning.

  • Submitting department for the FY27 federally designated spending request for forensic-laboratory and evidence-response equipment.

  • Submitting department for federally designated spending and administering airport-related purchases and air-service funding requests.

  • Submitting department for the federally designated spending request for a climate-controlled snow-equipment facility and administering the vehicle-wash-system purchase.

  • Submitting department for the $24 million federally designated spending request for the Parks & Recreation Center portion of the combined facility project.

  • Responsible for reviewing and recommending land-development-code and zoning measures referred to it by the City Council.

  • Committee responsible for reviewing and recommending several proposed ordinances, resolves, and program agreements.

  • Committee responsible for reviewing and recommending airport, ambulance, and vehicle-wash-system purchase measures.

  • Authorized to enforce the proposed sidewalk-obstruction ordinance and responsible for certain criminal-forfeiture measures.

  • Authorized to enforce the proposed sidewalk-obstruction ordinance.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements1

  • A 180-day moratorium immediately bars the City from accepting, processing, or approving applications, plans, permits, licenses, or fees for establishing, constructing, expanding, or operating data centers. It also applies to proceedings, applications, and petitions pending when the ordinance is adopted, and ends when the necessary zoning amendments take effect or 180 days after adoption, whichever occurs first.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions3

  • The moratorium is temporary: it ends when the necessary zoning and land-use amendments take effect or 180 days after adoption, whichever occurs first.

  • Applications, proceedings, and petitions that were already pending when the ordinance was adopted are not subject to the moratorium.

  • The ordinance bars the City from accepting, processing, or approving applications, permits, licenses, and related fees for new data-center construction or uses, but it does not directly prohibit the continued operation of an existing data center.

Sources

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