Petersburg’s Borough Assembly will consider a recommendation by the Planning Commission for a temporary data center moratorium at tonight’s meeting.
The Planning Commission is asking the assembly to create an ordinance to temporarily pause land use applications and building permits for data centers within service area one. That service area stretches roughly 8 miles out of town.
This recommendation comes after a Silicon Valley-based company expressed interest in working with a local private developer to build a data center on his downtown waterfront property earlier this year. Some community members have repeatedly testified against building data centers in Petersburg.
The Planning Commission would like one year to study the impacts of data centers, take public feedback, and recommend amendments to borough code to regulate those facilities. Borough laws currently do not include language specifically about data centers.
This is only a recommendation. If the assembly agrees with the planning commission, they can create an ordinance for a temporary moratorium. That ordinance would need three readings and a public hearing before becoming law.
Also tonight, the borough will have two public hearings on updates to outdated sections of borough code, and a public hearing on changes to the budget.
Those budget changes include adding grants for South Harbor’s C float replacement project and the Aquatic Center’s sewer line repairs. That also includes additional expenses, like repairs to the municipal building heat pump and two walk-in coolers at the elderly housing facility. Petersburg’s Public Works Department has also asked for $150,000 for a sewer line replacement project on Gjoa Street.
The Assembly meets at 6:00 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers. KFSK will broadcast that meeting live, until it goes into closed executive session to discuss wage negotiations for the labor agreement between the Borough and the union representing its municipal employees.
