Middleboro bans data centers

MIDDLEBORO — Data centers will not be coming to Middleboro anytime soon.

Middleboro Town Meeting voted strongly in favor of a bylaw banning data centers across town. Only five people voted against the law.

The bylaw, proposed by the Planning Board, will amend the zoning code to outlaw data centers across every zoning category. 

Director of Planning and Community Development Leeann Bradley spoke in favor of the ban. “As a planner, say no now, because we can take that back. If we say yes, you can’t change that, because then you’ve already set a precedent,” Bradley said.

Bradley told Nemasket Week in September that the law is a “preemptive” effort to block data centers from coming to Middleboro. She said other towns across Massachusetts, including Mansfield, and across the country have banned data centers. At the time, no data centers had been proposed in town.

Residents spoke about the significant downsides to data centers in communities, worrying that large data centers would put a strain on the town’s water and electricity supplies. Rae Robinson said that there needs to be more data to “review the full effect” of data centers on the surrounding areas, including on livestock on farms that a potential data center would abutt.

“I see no great long-term benefit to the town in allowing such a thing, and I see potential severe long-term costs,” said Conservation Commission member Phil McNamara.

A handful of residents, including Steve Spataro, spoke about the potential economic benefits of a data center. Spataro said that Middleboro, being such a large town, could accommodate a data center that would provide tax breaks.

“If tech dies, the country dies, because that’s where the new jobs are,” Spataro said.

He was one of five people standing to vote “nay” on the bylaw.

Thomas Slater said that there are examples of towns forcing data centers to use sustainable energy, like in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 

Kirk Aiken said the ban would make the town miss out on what could be significant monetary benefits, especially at a time when the town is struggling financially.

Scott Burchfield, a certified fire protection engineer, said the economic benefits, like increased jobs, may be illusory. He said he worked on a large data center used by ChatGPT in Abilene, Texas that at first employed 6,000 people but that number would plummet to 150. "I talked to the Texans who live in Abilene. Their lives have gotten worse, and they know it," Burchfield said. 

When Town Moderator David Cavanaugh announced that the item passed, the audience erupted into applause and cheers.