By Bridget Halloran
HAMBURG — Hamburg wants a year to figure out what to do about data centers, and it wants nothing built while it decides.
The board is set to vote tonight on a local law that would put a one-year moratorium on data centers in the town, according to the Nov. 2 meeting agenda. The pause would cover nearly every step a developer would need. Under the draft, the town would stop accepting, reviewing or approving “applications, permits, certificates, site plan approvals, special use permits, variances, building permits, and other land use approvals” for building, expanding, converting or running a data center.
The point, according to the proposed law, is time. The resolution says the town already regulates artificial intelligence data centers under its zoning law. But it says the town’s Code Review Committee needs time to update those rules “in light of the rapidly evolving nature and scale of these facilities,” and has recommended a moratorium in the meantime.
What the law would cover
The definition is broad. A “data center” under the draft is any building or group of buildings used mainly to house, process, store or transmit digital data through servers, networking gear, storage systems, cooling equipment and backup power. It specifically names colocation sites, cloud computing facilities, AI computing facilities and high-performance computing operations.
During the pause, the board says it would study land use, zoning, environmental, infrastructure, public safety, utility demand, noise, traffic and “community character” impacts. Then it would decide whether to amend the town’s comprehensive plan, zoning law or site plan rules.
The moratorium would take effect once it is filed with the New York secretary of state and would last one year. The board could end it early or extend it by resolution.
The board held a public hearing on Oct. 19, according to the resolution. The town has classified the law as a Type II action under the state environmental review law, which means no further environmental review is required. The town also sent it to Erie County for the required county review.
The councilman pushing it
Councilman Frank Bogulski has been the most vocal supporter. He told The Buffalo News last month that data centers can need large amounts of electricity and water and raise questions about noise, backup generators and what sits next door.
“It’s a genuine concern,” Bogulski told the News. “The biggest complaint I get from residents is overdevelopment. … We really need to look at what’s best for our environment and our citizens.”
Bogulski told the News he believes a year is enough time for the town’s planning, code enforcement, legal and engineering staff to look at the effects on utility costs, electrical capacity, water and neighborhoods. He would also like to go further and ban data centers outright, though he said the town would need to ask its attorneys whether a ban would hold up in court. If data centers do come to Western New York, he said, he would rather see them on old heavy-industrial land, like the former Bethlehem Steel site or industrial sites in the Tonawanda area.
Bogulski is also the Republican candidate in Tuesday’s election for the open 149th Assembly District seat. The Chronicle profiled that race last month.
Hamburg isn’t alone
Hamburg would join a growing list. West Seneca’s Town Board passed its own one-year moratorium in October, Spectrum News reported. Officials in the City of Buffalo have been discussing a two-year pause, according to the News.
The state got there first. In July, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order pausing new state environmental permits for “hyperscale” data centers for up to a year while the state writes uniform standards.
“As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” Hochul said at the time. “New York will lead the way in creating the strongest standards in the nation for data center development, ensuring that when companies succeed because of New York, New Yorkers succeed too.”
State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, who sponsors the Responsible Data Center Development Act, put it plainly: “Technology should make our lives better, not pollute our water, strain our energy grid, or drive up our utility bills.”
The state pause covers state environmental permits. Local zoning approvals are still the town’s call, which is why towns like Hamburg are adding their own.
Also on tonight’s agenda
The moratorium isn’t the only big item. The board is also scheduled to formally establish the Town of Hamburg Ambulance District, which it approved Sept. 28 subject to a permissive referendum. It also has amendments to the 2027 budget, a resolution on the Hamburg Woodlawn Gateway Brownfield Opportunity Area plan, and a resolution asking the state to change the Criminal Procedure Law for repeat juvenile offenders.
The full agenda is posted on Southtowns Record, and meeting information is on the town website.
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