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The Data Center Divide

Town of Van Buren

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

Pro-Data Center Policies

Van Buren’s enacted 12-month moratorium blocks new data centers townwide and bars expansion or alteration of previously approved facilities, which are otherwise exempt.

Rating from New York statewide as there are no scored current or future laws outside temporary restrictions for Town of Van Buren.

current law · Town of Van Buren
This local law establishes a temporary moratorium on data centers and commercial cryptocurrency-mining uses in the Town of Van Buren.New York Town of Van Buren Local Law No. 2 of 2026

What this means

The measure imposes a 12-month moratorium that blocks new data centers and related uses townwide, making development substantially harder during that period. Previously approved facilities are exempt, but expanding or altering them is barred while the moratorium is in effect.

Timing

Ends
Twelve (12) months from the effective date of Local Law No. 2-2026, unless renewed, or earlier if the Town Board resolves that the need for the moratorium no longer exists.

The moratorium applies to new commercial cryptocurrency mining operations, cryptocurrency data mines, data mining, data processing centers, and data storage facilities. Previously approved operations and operations on Town-owned property are excluded, but further modification, alteration, or enlargement is prohibited during the moratorium.

People behind it

  • Presented and introduced the proposed local law and enacted it as Local Law No. 2-2026.

  • Offered and moved adoption of the resolution enacting Local Law No. 2-2026.

  • Seconded the motion to adopt the resolution enacting Local Law No. 2-2026.

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  • Designated to enforce the local law and advise the Town Board on enforcement matters.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements7

  • A 12-month moratorium prohibits the development or construction of commercial cryptocurrency mining operations, cryptocurrency data mines, data mining operations, data processing centers, and data storage facilities anywhere in the Town of Van Buren. The moratorium begins on the law’s effective date and may end earlier if the Town Board determines by resolution that it is no longer needed.

  • Previously approved facilities and facilities located on Town-owned property are exempt from the moratorium, but any further modification, alteration, or enlargement of those facilities is prohibited while the moratorium remains in effect.

  • Data storage facilities are restricted to uses that are secondary, subordinate, customarily incidental, and located on the same lot as the property’s principal use; they may not operate as an independent principal use.

  • An owner seeking relief from the moratorium for unusual hardship must submit an application in triplicate, pay a $250 filing fee, reimburse the Town for related expert and attorney costs, and satisfy the New York use-variance criteria.

  • The Town Board must hold a public hearing on a hardship-relief application within 45 days of its receipt and issue a final decision within 30 days after the hearing. Relief may be denied unless the Board is completely satisfied that it is compatible with contemplated zoning amendments.

  • Violations may result in a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to 15 days, or both; each day a violation continues is treated as a separate violation.

  • The Town may bring a civil action for injunctive relief to stop violations and, if necessary, require removal of construction, improvements, or related items or byproducts created in violation of the law.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions3

  • Facilities that were previously approved or are located on Town-owned property are exempt from the moratorium and may be sited, constructed, installed, and operated in accordance with approved plans.

  • A data-center project may seek relief from the moratorium for unusual hardship if strict application would deprive the owner of all reasonable use of the land. The application requires a $250 filing fee, reimbursement of the Town’s related costs, and review under New York use-variance criteria.

  • The moratorium is temporary: it expires 12 months after the local law’s effective date unless renewed, or earlier if the Town Board determines that the moratorium is no longer needed.

Sources

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