Dear Editor: I was glad to learn that Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and the Common Council are pausing zoning approvals for new data and telecommunication centers until they can be included in the zoning code as a “defined use.” I know they will do their best to accommodate data centers in the zoning code so they can be regulated consistent with the sustainable Madison plan.
It’s unfortunate that their possible actions are legally limited.
In my opinion, Madison has no place for the kind of data centers Chamber of Commerce President Zach Brandon seems to envision as promoting “informed economic development.” They would have serious environmental impacts and massive requirements for land, water, energy and minerals. Other problems are toxic waste, noise pollution that causes health problems in people and a catalog of problems in wildlife. Perhaps worst of all is the centers’ profligate consumption of increasingly limited resources needed by everyday people for everyday needs…