New Orleans City Council bans data centers for a year after concerns over potential development [View all]
The New Orleans City Council passed a yearlong ban on data centers in New Orleans and began an effort to clarify zoning regulations for new data center projects on Wednesday (Jan. 28). The vote will head off any data center development in New Orleans East, which has drawn concerns about energy and water consumption from neighbors and local politicians, including Mayor Helena Moreno.
Data centers are currently not defined in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, according to Councilmember JP Morrell, who introduced both motions alongside Councilmember Jason Hughes. Morrell said that the city cannot ban data center developments permanently without a definition.
“In order to ban data centers you have to define them,” Morrell said. “When you don’t define an item, you create loopholes for it to exist.”
The council is making the move out of “an abundance of caution,” according to language in the motion issuing the ban. The moratorium, called an interim zoning district, takes effect immediately while the City Planning Commission starts a review process and makes recommendations on zoning uses for data centers.
https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-data-management-and-storage-general-news-cd7b7c30b03609cd17096e82ec00b9e6
This has also recently happened in VA and WI, where governing bodies have voted against them.
= new reply since forum marked as read