Panels vote to recommend data center moratorium

Planning Board · Meeting of October 29, 2026

Northampton's Legislative Matters Committee and Planning Board both voted unanimously to recommend a one-year data center moratorium to the City Council. The ordinance, read in full at the joint hearing, bars new data center permits for 365 days, with a possible 180-day extension, while a council select committee studies impacts; Councilor Maiori said more than 30 residents have already applied to serve on that committee. Councilor Stratton pushed for a numeric size or power threshold in the definition, citing Holyoke's 12-megawatt ban and East Hampton's 2,500-square-foot rule, but Planning Board member Samuel Taylor said he was "not comfortable at all putting a number that I don't understand into effect." The board made one wording change, striking the word "to" from the extension clause, before voting 4-0 to recommend the ordinance.

Smith College students and Northampton residents spoke in support during public comment. The City Council is expected to take up the recommendation November 5.

In the full story:

• Opening and Procedure
• The Moratorium Ordinance Text
• Defining Data Center: The Threshold Debate
• Public Comment
• Deliberation and Votes
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,003 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of October 29, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.