SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WPRI) — Property owners seeking to develop a data center in Smithfield are suing the town, arguing that a recently enacted ban on the facilities is inconsistent with its comprehensive plan and amounts to an unlawful moratorium.
Hanton City Investments LLC and ROK LLC have filed two Superior Court lawsuits tied to a proposed development that includes a data center on the Route 7/116 corridor within Smithfield’s Planned Corporate (PC) zoning district and Economic Growth Overlay District (EGOD).
In a complaint obtained by 12 News, the companies refer to the town’s comprehensive plan, which designates the PC zone as “the keystone of local economic development efforts” such as office space, corporate headquarters and “light industrial development.”…