Panel Votes to Advance Data Center Moratorium

City Council Ordinance Committee · Meeting of August 25, 2026

Easthampton's Ordinance Committee voted to advance an 18-month data center moratorium to the full City Council. The 3-0 roll call, with Councillor Smith, Councillor Denham and the committee chair voting aye, sends the draft zoning amendment toward a joint public hearing with the Planning Board on September 15. Councillor Denham, who helped draft the measure, asked that neighboring towns be notified, saying "I just don't want to be continually on a border war," after hearing about a possible data center proposal near Southampton.

Director Emanuel confirmed the required notice already goes to abutting communities, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and the state housing office under Massachusetts General Law. The same meeting referred four ordinance sections, covering animal control, police citations, public loitering and snow clearing, to the Public Safety Committee, and set a September 8 listening session on zoning changes that would allow duplexes by right in most residential districts.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
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Source: the City Council Ordinance Committee meeting of August 25, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.