12-Month Pause Pitched For Data Center Dev

by Thomas Breen

Board of Alders Majority Leader Richard Furlow has proposed a 12-month moratorium on data center development in New Haven — to give the city time to come up with zoning regulations regarding if and where such resource-intensive uses should be allowed.

Furlow’s proposed ordinance amendment is listed as a communication on Monday’s full Board of Alders agenda.

The proposal must now head to an aldermanic committee for a public hearing before returning to the full board for a final vote.

Furlow told the Independent that he is not aware of any proposals for new data centers in town. Instead, he has proposed this 12-month moratorium in response to constituents’ concerns about New Haven’s lack of relevant zoning.

Upon hearing such concerns, Furlow recalled thinking, “Holy cow, this is like the smoke shops all over again.” That is, the alders were not prepared for the proliferation of smoke shops that the city saw following the legalization of recreational adult-use cannabis. The city has subsequently adopted zoning regs strictly limiting where smoke shops can operate.

“This way, we can get some good zoning, get ahead of it, [and] figure out where they should be or if they should be,” Furlow said about any potential future data center development.

He referenced the city’s adoption in 2022 of a one-year building moratorium on Long Wharf as a model for this newly proposed data center development pause.

Data centers — industrial facilities that house information technology (IT) infrastructure like servers — have grown in prominence, politically and environmentally, in recent years with the rise of artificial intelligence and a corresponding surge in demand for cloud computing.

Furlow’s proposal points out that data center development is on the rise across the country due to “growing demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, telecommunications, data storage, and related digital infrastructure”; it also states that this type of development “may involve substantial electrical demand, telecommunications infrastructure, cooling systems, backup power systems, water usage, security infrastructure, and other ancillary facilities and operations.”

In a cover letter for his proposal, Furlow wrote that a 12-month moratorium on data center development would “provide the City with sufficient time to study and evaluate the opportunities and impacts associated with this rapidly emerging land use and to develop appropriate zoning regulations before such development or conversion occurs within the City of New Haven.”

The proposal calls for the city’s economic development department to convene a working group to evaluate the issue and put forward recommendations for consideration by the Board of Alders and the City Plan Commission.

The ordinance amendment notes that several municipalities throughout Connecticut — including Groton, Morris, and West Haven — have “undertaken studies, regulatory reviews, adopted temporary moratoria, or otherwise considered land use regulations concerning data center development in order to evaluate the potential impacts of such facilities and develop appropriate zoning standards.”

Furlow stressed that he wants to get public input on the matter. “We just need to hear more from the residents,” he said, before adopting new zoning rules around data centers.

New Haven State Sen. Gary Winfield told the Independent that a 12-month moratorium on data center development likely makes sense to give the city time to come up with zoning regulations on the matter. He said he is open to testifying in support of Furlow’s proposal, but needs to read through the details first.

Winfield pointed out that the state Senate has taken votes on two data center-focused bills in recent years — Raised Senate Bill No. 299, in 2024, which requires the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to evaluate the impact of large data centers on the state’s electric system; and Raised Senate Bill No. 1292, in 2025, which would have required the owners of artificial intelligence data centers to supply quarterly reports to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). The first bill passed into law; the second did not.

“We should be very circumspect” over where data centers are placed in town, Winfield said, while recognizing that not all data centers use water and electricity with the same intensity.

“This is really important to me broadly,” Furlow added about seeking public feedback on the matter. “I think we should have more public input.”