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The Data Center Divide

City of Pittsfield

Mixed Data Center Policies

Massachusetts requires covered data-center projects above 25 megawatts to meet community-benefit and environmental safeguards for permits, while qualifying large projects can receive conditional tax breaks. Grid initiatives may support reliability, but their benefits are indirect; applications for the tax incentive are currently paused.

Rating and summary from Massachusetts statewide as there are no scored current or future laws outside temporary restrictions for City of Pittsfield.

pending · City of Pittsfield
Proposes to temporarily prohibit new data centers in Pittsfield until December 31, 2028, or until the city adopts data-center rules; it has not been enacted.Pittsfield, Massachusetts — Proposed Article 23-4, § 4.332, “Data Center, Temporary Moratorium”

What this means

If enacted, the measure would block new data centers in Pittsfield until December 31, 2028, or until the city adopts regulations, making development substantially harder during that time. An exception for servers supporting another approved business does not offset the restriction on data centers as a main use.

Timing

Ends
2028-12-31, or until “reasonable” regulations for data centers are adopted by City Council

People behind it

  • Petitioner proposing a zoning-map amendment for 1 Federico Drive.

  • Petitioner for the Battery Energy Storage Systems zoning amendment; agreed to become petitioner for the Downtown Core District amendment and to pursue a data-center moratorium.

  • Brought forward the data-center moratorium petition and worked with the city solicitor to develop its language.

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  • Petitioned to explore a moratorium on establishing and siting data centers.

  • Proposed feasibility-study and surveillance-report petitions and introduced an alternative ordinance concerning the equity office and Human Rights Commission.

  • Proposed an amendment concerning clerks of committees and co-sponsored the City Council Rule 21 amendment.

  • Co-sponsored the City Council Rule 21 amendment.

  • Submitted a proposal to the mayor to rename the equity office and establish the Equity, Access and Opportunity Commission.

  • Submitted communications concerning the ordinance renaming the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements1

  • A temporary moratorium would prohibit data centers from the measure’s adoption until December 31, 2028, or until the City Council adopts “reasonable” data-center regulations, whichever comes first. Accessory uses to an approved principal use—such as servers supporting a manufacturing business—would be excluded from the data-center definition. The proposed moratorium gives a temporary period from adoption to Dec. 31, 2028

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions1

  • Accessory data-center-like uses are excluded from the definition of a data center when they serve an approved principal use; for example, a manufacturer’s servers supporting its operations would not be classified as a data center.

Sources

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