New Bedford officials are moving toward a citywide prohibition on data centers, treating it as a temporary pause so planners can write rules for large-scale AI facilities rather than the smaller server rooms assumed when current zoning was adopted. The City Council’s ordinance committee recommended the measure on October 26 after the Planning Board unanimously backed it on October 7, sending it to the full council.
Mayor Jon Mitchell proposed the ban in a September 1 letter. He argued that data centers place heavy demands on electrical and water infrastructure, generate noise from equipment and generators, consume substantial land, and can harm surrounding properties. The city’s 2024 rules allow them by right in some districts without special review; those rules predate the AI-driven jump in facility size and intensity. Continuing without performance standards, he wrote, risks exposing residents to problems the city is not prepared to handle.
Planning Director Jennifer Carloni has said the department expects to need about a year to research locations, size limits, and safeguards before returning with a permanent proposal. She has pointed to a controversial expansion in Lowell as the kind of outcome the city wants to avoid. Councilors have said they are open to tax revenue and jobs but insist on proper regulations. Councilor Ian Abreu noted the city is not anti-growth, while Council President Ryan Pereira observed that New Bedford’s dense layout may leave no suitable site…