The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2026-04-13 26-138 Ordinance26-138 04/13/2026 CITY COUNCIL ACTION Council Meeting Date: April 13, 2026 Item No: 26-138 Responsible Dept: Planning Action Requested: Ordinance Title, Ordinance Moratorium Ordinance on Data Centers in the City of Bangor Summary Map/Lot: N/A The proposed ordinance would establish a 180-day moratorium on the development of data centers in the City of Bangor. The City of Bangor is suddenly experiencing increased development pressure from data centers, which are a rapidly growing and evolving land use that typically require substantial electricity and water usage for cooling and related operations, often generate air, water, and noise pollution, and can take up a very large amount of land. Because this development pressure was unanticipated, existing ordinances and development standards do not adequately address the unique infrastructure demands, environmental impacts, impacts to neighboring property owners, and operational characteristics of data centers. Therefore, the City Council finds that a moratorium of 180 days is necessary to develop and implement the necessary amendments to the Land Development Code to accommodate and mitigate negative impacts from this development pressure. Committee Action Committee: Business & Economic Development Committee Meeting Date: April 6, 2026 Action: Recommend for approval For: 5 Against: 0 Staff Comments & Approvals City Manager City Solicitor Finance Director Introduced for: First Reading 26-138 04/13/2026 CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE Date: April 13, 2026 Assigned to Councilor: Faloon ORDINANCE, Moratorium Ordinance on Data Centers in the City of Bangor, Maine. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Bangor, Maine, has a responsibility to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare of its residents; and WHEREAS, the City regulates land use and development to ensure that infrastructure systems, including water supply and wastewater treatment, are adequate to support existing and future uses, and that potential pollution is mitigated; and WHEREAS, the City of Bangor is suddenly experiencing increased development pressure from data centers; and WHEREAS, data centers are a rapidly growing and evolving land use that typically require substantial electricity and water usage for cooling and related operations, often generate air, water, and noise pollution, and can take up a very large amount of land; and WHEREAS, because this development pressure was unanticipated, existing ordinances and development standards do not adequately address the unique infrastructure demands, environmental impacts, impacts to neighboring property owners, and operational characteristics of data centers; and WHEREAS, the potential cumulative impacts of data centers on Bangor's municipal water supply, groundwater resources, wastewater infrastructure, electrical grid, and air and water quality are not yet fully understood; and WHEREAS, there is strong support for this Moratorium Ordinance from the Bangor Water District and members of the public; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that allowing the establishment or expansion of data centers without the presence of use -specific regulations could pose risks to water availability, wastewater system performance, electrical grid resilience, environmental quality, quality of life, and the long-term interests of the community; and WHEREAS, a temporary moratorium will provide the City with necessary time to study these issues, consult with experts, evaluate infrastructure capacity, consider appropriate regulations, and develop standards to mitigate potential adverse impacts; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that a moratorium of 180 days is necessary to develop and implement the necessary amendments to the Land Development Code to accommodate and mitigate negative impacts from this development pressure; and WHEREAS, amendments to the Land Development Code require a public hearing by the Planning Board and City Council; and WHEREAS, in the judgement of the City, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of 30-A M.R.S.A. 4356 (1)(B) and require the following Moratorium Ordinance as immediately necessary for the 26-138 04/13/2026 preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare; NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BANGOR AS FOLLOWS, THAT a moratorium is hereby imposed, effective immediately and applicable to the maximum extent permitted by law and subject to the severability clause below, on the acceptance, processing, and approval of any applications, permits, or approvals related to the establishment, construction, expansion, or operation of data centers within the City of Bangor until the effective date of the necessary amendments to the City's zoning and land use ordinances and regulations or until 180 days after the adoption of this Ordinance, whichever is earlier; and BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, that for the purposes of this Moratorium Ordinance, "data center" shall mean any building, structure, or facility, or group thereof, whose primary use is the storage, management, processing, or transmission of digital data, and which houses computer systems, servers, and associated components, including but not limited to cooling systems, power supply infrastructure, and water -dependent cooling technologies. This includes, but is not limited to cloud computing facilities, server farms, cryptocurrency mining operations, artificial intelligence training or processing facilities, and data storage warehouses; and BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, that the Planning Division, Code Enforcement Division, Planning Board, Board of Appeals, all City departments and all City employees shall neither accept nor approve any applications, plans, permits, licenses, and/or fees for any new construction or uses governed by this Moratorium Ordinance for such data centers for said period of time; and BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, that those provisions of the City's Land Development Code and other regulations which are inconsistent or conflicting with the provisions of this Moratorium Ordinance, including, without limitation, the requirements for site plan review by the Planning Board, subdivision or Site Location of Development review by the Planning Board, and variance appeals by the Board of Appeals, are hereby repealed to the extent that they are applicable for the duration of the Moratorium Ordinance hereby ordained, but not otherwise; and BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, that to the extent any provision of this Moratorium Ordinance is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the balance of the Moratorium Ordinance shall remain valid. EMERGENCY CLAUSE: In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Moratorium Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage by the City, shall apply, to the maximum extent permitted by the law but subject to the severance clause above, to all proceedings, applications, and petitions not pending as of the date of adoption of this Ordinance, and shall stand repealed as of 180 days after the adoption of this Ordinance. IN CITY COUNCIL APRIL 13, 2026 COrd 26-138 Motion made and seconded to Waive the Requirement of Reading on Two Separate Days Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes: Beck, Carson, Deane, Faloon, Fish, Leonard, Mallar,Walker, Hawes Councilors Voting No: None Passed to Waive Motion made and seconded for Passage Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes: Beck, Carson, Deane, Faloon, Fish, Leonard, Mallar,Walker, Hawes Councilors Voting No: None Passed � �„��µw�:..�� n,� „ ��rv��:�„� �. CITY CLERK