Planning, Development and Transportation on October 19, 2026

TODAY'S HEARING IS ON DOCKET 1718 ORDER REGARDING A TEXT AMENDMENT TO THE BOSTON ZONING CODE TO PROHIBIT DATA CENTERS IN ALL ZONING DISTRICTS.

I FOLLOWED THE ZONING AMENDMENT BECAUSE AS DATA CENTERS CONTINUE TO EXPAND ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS AND THE COUNTRY, I BELIEVE BOSTON NEEDS TO DECIDE PROACTIVELY WHETHER THIS IS AN APPROPRIATE LAND USE FOR OUR CITY, WHETHER

WE'VE ALSO SEEN COMMUNITIES LIKE LOWELL RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT NOISE, AIR POLLUTION, BACKUP DIESEL GENERATORS AND THE LACK OF MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN DECISIONS ABOUT DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT.

THAT IS WHY THIS AMENDMENT PROPOSES DEFINING DATA CENTERS ,ENFORCING ZONING CODE AND MAKING THEM OF A BUILDING USE CITYWIDE WHILE PROTECTING ORDINARY SERVER ROOMS COMPUTER INFRASTRUCTURE THAT SUPPORT EXISTING BUSINESSES,

AS I AS I UNDERSTAND IT, DEVELOPERS MUST NOW SECURE FOR LOCAL APPROVAL IN A COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT BEFORE ANY PERMIT STATE.

UM AND I SHOULD SAY IS APPROVED.

ORDER FOR OUR AUDIT ORDER REGARDING A TEXT AMENDMENT TO THE BOSTON ZONING CODE TO PROHIBIT DATA CENTERS IN ALL ZONING DISTRICTS.

ANY LARGE SCALE PROJECT PROPOSED TODAY WOULD BE SUBJECT TO SIGNIFICANT SCRUTINY THROUGH THE ARTICLE 80 PROCESS AND AS AN EXTREMELY LIMITED ZONING PATHWAYS WITHOUT EXPLICIT APPROVALS FROM THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, THE BPA

WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL ON ANY PROPOSED ZONING AMENDMENTS SPECIFICALLY AROUND NEW DEFINITIONS TO FIT EMERGING TECHNOLOGY.

UM, I HAVE REALLY GOTTEN INTO THE WEEDS OF THIS ISSUE SINCE WE NOTICED THE HEARING TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND FROM BOTH LIKE THE TECHNOLOGY HOSPITAL, YOU KNOW, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE COMMUNITY THAT EXIST IN BOSTON WHAT IMPACTS A Z

UM, OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE A LOT SMARTER THAN ME ON THESE ISSUES AND I I'M LEARNING THEM BUT UM, I'VE BEEN TALKING TO SOME PROFESSORS FROM DIFFERENT COLLEGES WHO WHO REALLY ARE JUST TRYING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO WHILE WE'

SO SO IS IT ACCURATE TO SAY I THINK YOU MENTIONED IT BUT THE THIS TEXT AMENDMENT IS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE ADMINISTRATION.

WE DID A ZONING AMENDMENT.

UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME WE REALIZE THAT WE HAVE ENERGY NEEDS THAT ARE URGENT NEEDS THAT ARE GROWING ACROSS THE CITY.

RATHER, WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT A TECHNICAL ASPECT OF THIS PROPOSAL BECAUSE WE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE PETITION AS CURRENTLY DRAFTED.

DESPITE THESE DISTINCTIONS, WE REMAIN CONCERNED THAT THE PROPOSAL IS STILL BROAD ENOUGH TO CREATE UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE COMPUTING INFRASTRUCTURE UPON WHICH OUR INSTITUTIONS RELY, INCLUDING SYSTEMS THAT SUPPORT PATIEN

AND UH, MY BIGGEST CONCERN WITH THIS PROPOSAL IS THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON WORKING FAMILIES AND THE FUTURE JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN BOSTON, THOUSANDS OF LOCAL ONE AND THREE MEMBERS OF BOSTON RESIDENTS THEY'RE RAISING FAMILIES

I'M ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT DISCOURAGING PRIVATE INVESTMENT AT A TIME WHEN WE NEED TO CONTINUE CREATING JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOSTON RESIDENTS.

AND ONE OTHER THING AS LISTENING TO THIS PROCESS A THE CONCERN ABOUT UH, DIESEL GENERATORS, THEY DO RUN MAYBE ONCE EVERY SIX WEEKS BUT FOR FIVE MINUTES I THINK THAT THESE DATA CENTERS ARE NOT RUNNING ON ON THESE UM ON TH