The Data Center Divide
A policy snapshot ahead of the 2026 midterms. Mapping data center incentives, restrictions, and bans through legislation, regulations, and executive actions across all 50 states and 1,462 local jurisdictions.
City of Salem
Strongly Anti-Data Center Policies
Salem has enacted a ban on data centers with energy demand of at least two megawatts; accessory servers for a lawful primary use are exempt, though the description also says they would be prohibited.
current law · City of SalemProhibits data centers throughout Salem, while exempting server systems that are secondary to a lawful primary use, but not separate businesses providing data services to third parties.Salem City Council zoning ordinance banning data centers with aggregate energy demand of two megawatts or higher
What this means
The amendment would prohibit data centers in every Salem zoning district, effectively blocking new dedicated facilities and expansions that qualify as data centers (“Data Centers are prohibited in each and every” district). It exempts servers that are accessory to a lawful primary use, such as a business’s own server room, but not separate businesses serving third parties.
People behind it
- Dominick Pangallo
Mayor who proposed and submitted the zoning ordinance banning data centers.
- Ty Hapworth
Councilor who proposed the amendment excluding accessory, incidental, and subordinate server infrastructure from the data-center definition.
Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements2
The ordinance prohibits data centers in every underlying, overlay, and special zoning district in Salem, and bars classifying them as office, warehouse, manufacturing, or research uses. It defines a data center as a facility or portion primarily used to house servers and related information-technology infrastructure for electronic data. “Data Centers are prohibited in each and every” district
Servers and related infrastructure that are accessory, incidental, and subordinate to a lawful principal use at the same facility are excluded from the data-center definition. But that exception does not cover a separate business providing data storage, server hosting, distributed processing, or similar services to third parties. “This exception does not cover a separate business”
Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions1
Servers and related IT infrastructure that are accessory, incidental, and subordinate to a lawful principal use at the same facility are exempt from the data-center definition; this does not cover a separate business serving third parties. Accessory-use exception
Sources
Data provided by Regbase · Cookie preferences · Report missing data