Without a statewide moratorium on large data center development, a patchwork of local laws appears to be forming in Maine.

Weeks after Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill to temporarily restrict permitting for new data centers of 20 megawatts or more, at least four towns and cities are considering enacting their own moratoriums. The local pauses are designed to give officials time to review their zoning rules and develop new regulations for large data centers — should they ever come to town.

Some, like those in Sanford and Scarborough, come as developers have already proposed building data centers in town. Others, like in Brunswick and Westbrook, are designed to get ahead of potential data center construction. All four communities plan to discuss their proposals at meetings this week.

Though these local proposals have taken on new urgency in a lieu of a broader moratorium, they are not the first of their kind. The Bangor City Council unanimously passed a city-wide pause in April, days before Mills shot down the statewide effort. Anne Krieg, the town’s director of development, said they “didn’t want to wait for the state,” as development pressure mounted.

Data centers are facilities that house computers to store data and run online applications and services. They have existed for decades, but new developments in artificial intelligence technology have created an exponential increase in demand for the sites. Proponents argue that the facilities can create jobs, lower local tax burdens and drive economic growth in Maine; opponents argue that they suck up resources like water and electricity, driving up utility bills and polluting the surrounding environment.

Tanya Emery, advocacy manager at the Maine Municipal Association, said discussion of the statewide moratorium, and Mills’ ultimate rejection of the bill, brought the issue to forefront in many small towns.

For the most part, Emery said those conversations are in nascent stages.

“In the majority of communities, it’s speculative,” she said. But “you never know. And it’s better to have had a conversation about what your community wants, what your priorities are, what your infrastructure looks like, what is your comprehensive plan — before you get a knock on the door.”

GETTING AHEAD OF THINGS

In Westbrook, news of the statewide pause and Mills’ veto triggered conversations at city hall about how the existing local code could apply to large data center development, said Mayor David Morse.

“It just generated discussion internally about ‘Well, what does our code currently say?’” Morse said.

The city already has a definition for the term “data center,” but it was written in 2019 — well before the artificial intelligence boom skyrocketed demand for processing power. And the city’s code does not include any site review standards specifically aimed at the facilities, said Jennie Franceschi, assistant city administrator.

“Rather than waiting until that day comes and scrambling to prepare for it then, we’d like to be preemptively prepared,” Morse said.

Last week, Morse asked the city council to consider implementing a 180-day moratorium. That’s the maximum length permitted by state law.

In a written announcement, his office pointed to growing concern from members of the public and from state lawmakers, including Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford. Fecteau, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, called on local leaders to pass their own moratoriums in a post on social media shortly after Mills’ veto, which he called a “disastrous decision.”

Westbrook’s moratorium would take effect upon passage and prohibit the city from accepting or taking any action on permit applications related to “a new, enlarged or expanded data center,” according to the latest language.

The draft ordinance points to the facilities’ high water and electricity usage, as well as their noise, light pollution and potential impacts to the surrounding environment. It does not explicitly mention any potential benefits the centers could bring.

The city’s current land use rules are “inadequate to prevent the serious public harm that may result from the development of data centers in the city,” the draft continues.

In Brunswick, local officials are considering a very similar proposal, which uses much of the same language but includes some additional details. (The two communities’ legal counsels work for the same law firm.)

“We towns stick together if we can,” said Deb Young, Brunswick’s administration and communications director, adding that Brunswick officials saw Westbrook’s draft as they considered their own.

Unlike Westbrook’s, Brunswick’s draft ordinance will be retroactive, and it specifically targets data centers with gross floor areas of at least 10,000 square feet or electrical capacities of at least 20 MW. Town Manager Julia Henze said that threshold was designed to protect an existing, smaller-scale data center that she said has not been an issue.

“What we’re all concerned about is these enormous data centers,” Henze said.

The Westbrook City Council and Brunswick Town Council are both planning to review their proposed moratoriums at Monday evening meetings.

RESPONDING TO REQUESTS

In Sanford and Scarborough, the local proposals come as developers have already voiced plans to build data centers in town.

In Scarborough, a proposed data center on the west side of town came to the public’s attention a few days after Mills issued her veto. Local officials rejected an application for a plan just west of the Maine Turnpike as incomplete.

Town Manager Tom Hall told Maine Public that the proposal came as a surprise to local officials, adding that a moratorium would be an opportunity to “educate ourselves and make more informed decisions.” Hall did not return requests for an interview for this story.

Cory Fellows, chair of the Scarborough Town Council, said the town’s moratorium is not meant to target any specific project. He said local interest, and messages from the public, spiked after the governor’s veto.

Pausing for six months will allow the town to develop specific requirements related to noise and light, making sure that any data centers fit into a broader vision for one of Maine’s fastest growing communities, he said.

“I don’t think we’re going into this with any preconceived ideas about what those criteria might be,” Fellows said.

The moratorium would take effect retroactively, beginning April 1, according to the draft language, which points to potential negatives like strained utilities and increased traffic, but does not explicitly discuss the centers’ potential benefits.

The Scarborough council will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, giving locals a chance to offer comment. The proposed moratorium will require two readings, which means the body could vote on it as early as June 3, Fellows said.

In Sanford, local officials have grappled with a large data center proposal for months. Plans for the 1,000-plus acre Sanford Woods Industrial and Technical Campus first emerged as state lawmakers initially began considering a moratorium.

On Tuesday, the Sanford City Council will vote on whether to enact a 91-day moratorium.

“While the City’s existing ordinances provide a generally strong regulatory framework for land use review, they are not specifically tailored to address the distinct characteristics and potential impacts of large-scale data center development,” the proposed ordinance states.

Unlike the other three, Sanford’s proposed ordinance emphasizes that the city council intends to support economic development in the city, so long as it has the proper guardrails.

Sanford’s proposal, which was at least partly fueled by public opposition to the Sanford Woods data center, would apply to centers with at least 10,000 square feet of floor space or electrical demands of at least 1 MW. The Sanford Woods project is predicted to require between 100 and 300 MW of power.

A city spokesperson referred questions about the thought process behind the moratorium to City Manager Steven Buck’s comments at a May 5 council meeting.

Buck said residents’ concerns are influenced by examples in other states, where data centers cropped up rapidly and without clear regulation. He said that’s not how development takes place in Sanford, though “it’s reasonable for residents to question whether our current framework is sufficient.”

The issue in Sanford is not an absence of regulation, but a question of how they apply to new types of development, he argued. If the moratorium is passed, Buck said, town officials will work to develop data center-specific rules relating to resource usage, noise, site design and other factors.

At that same meeting, Mayor Becky Brink said the town had been “depending upon” the Legislature and governor to pass a more sweeping moratorium.

“I feel like the state let us down,” she said. “We as a city — and all of us have spoken — we are going to protect Sanford.”