About the proposed Data Center Moratorium in Westfield

Check back often. This information is updated as more becomes available.
​

NEXT UP:  PUBLIC HEARINGS AT CITY HALL
​JUNE 16 & 18 @ 6PM
​More Details Below

See the Data Center Moratorium
​ Zoning Amendment Application 
on file with City of Westfield Planning Board

Sign-On Letter to the Mayor,
​Planning Board, and City Council

Westfield Data Center Moratorium - ​What is it?
The Natural Resources Committee of the City Council, with the assistance of the City Planner and Law Department, have developed a draft amendment that, if approved, would add two items to our existing Zoning Ordinance:

1. a definition for "Data Center" (the same as the definition used by the State), and
2. a temporary moratorium on Data Centers.

That temporary moratorium, more specifically, would
establish a 365-day moratorium on the permitting, construction, expansion, conversion, establishment, or operation of any Data Center in the City of Westfield, during which:

• ​"no application, permit, special permit, site plan approval, variance, building permit, zoning permit, or other land use approval shall be accepted, processed, or approved for a Data Center"  (no applications will be accepted)
• "any pending application for a Data Center shall be stayed"  (any applications in progress will be paused)
• "No Data Center shall proceed ... if it requires, depends upon, or is paired with BESS approval, BESS construction, or related energy-storage infrastructure subject to Section 5-31 or any successor BESS moratorium"  (no data center having to do with a BESS will be allowed to move either)
• "the City Council’s Natural Resources Committee shall review environmental, public health, and infrastructure impacts to better inform permanent zoning regulations" (the NRC will hold meetings to investigate the impacts of Data Centers and where, if anywhere, it's okay for Westfield to put these facilities, and if so, how to regulate them).

PLEASE NOTE:  If it is found that Data Centers are unsafe for Westfield, only the Board of Health has the authority to prohibit them via health regulation(s).

​Westfield Data Center Moratorium Timeline 
(Reverse chronological order. Click + to expand.)

TBD - Second Reading & final Passage

• The Moratorium could be voted down here. It could also be "Tabled" here and no further discussion could occur until the item is voted back "off the table".  That could be done to "run out the clock"to kill the Moratorium without voting it down directly. 
• Public Participation at the beginning of the meeting can be 3 minutes long. 
• Emails and calls to your Ward and At-Large Councilors in support can go out prior to this meeting.
• To be successful, second reading and final passage must happen NO LATER THAN 90 days after the close of the Public Hearing.

TBD - ​First Reading & First Vote

• Future City Council Meeting where Committee reports the Moratorium out for First Reading & First Vote, as well as a vote to schedule Second Reading and Final Passage at the following meeting.
• The Moratorium could be voted down here. It could also be "Tabled" here and no further discussion can occur until the item is back "off the table".  That could be done to "run out the clock"to kill the Moratorium without voting it down directly. 
• Public Participation at the beginning of the meeting can be 3 minutes long.
• Emails and calls to your Ward and At-Large Councilors in support can go out prior to this meeting.​
• To be successful, second reading and final passage must happen NO LATER THAN 90 days after the close of the Public Hearing.

TBD - ​Committee Meetings

• Committee Meetings (NRC, L&O, ZPD?) to refine/revise the language based on the feedback from the Public Hearings.
• Committee then reports the Moratorium back to full Council at their next meeting for first reading & first vote, as well as a vote to schedule second reading and final passage at the following meeting.
• To be successful, second reading and final passage must happen NO LATER THAN 90 days after the close of the Public Hearing.

Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 6pm, City Council Public Hearing

• Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 6pm, City Council Public Hearing for Data Center Moratorium, in Council Chambers, City Hall - Room 207, 59 Court Street, Westfield, MA 
• Bring your 'questions of fact' and public statements for or against the moratorium.
• To be successful, second reading and final passage must happen NO LATER THAN 90 days after the close of the Public Hearing.

Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 6pm, Planning Board Public Hearing

• Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 6pm, Planning Board Public Hearing for Data Center Moratorium, in Council Chambers, City Hall - Room 207, 59 Court Street, Westfield, MA 
  
• Bring your 'questions of fact' and public statements for or against the Data Center Moratorium.

thursday, may 21, 2026 - moved on to public hearings

At the City Council meeting held on May 21, 2026, the Council voted to send the Data Center Moratorium to the Planning Board for their review, and to schedule a Public Hearing and publicly notice that hearing so that all may participate.

wednesday, may 20, 2026 - nrc review & positive vote

The Natural Resources Committee met and voted 2-0 to send a positive report to the Council on the motion for a Data Center Moratorium, and the draft language as presented.

Thursday, may 7, 2026 - motion for data center moratorium

A motion was successfully made in the City Council to consider a 12 month moratorium on Data Center projects in the City of Westfield, and referred to the Natural Resources Committee for review and development.

November 20, 2024 - state extends permits 2 years

 Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed the “Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership.” Also known as the “Mass Leads Act”, this comprehensive economic development bill includes provisions to again extend the life of land use permits. (including the Data Center's permit, + 2 yrs to Oct. 21, 2026) https://easthamptonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8223/2-year-Automatic-Permit-Extension ​

October 21, 2021 - Servistar data center approval

Westfield City Council approved the PIOLOT agreement under Chapter 121A for the proposed Servistar Data Center, clearing the way for the project.  (land permit 3 yrs?, Oct. 21, 2024)

In 2021, Westfield approved a $4 billion Hyperscale Data Center project without fully understanding the potential costs to our Community.
Data Centers are known to cause air, water, and noise pollution, utility bill increases, and power and water scarcity in some host municipalities.
We must educate ourselves and each other about the real-world impacts that are happening in communities hosting data centers prior to approving any, or establishing zoning regulations for this land use.
This is very basic due diligence.
Working together we can protect our health, our natural resources, and our wallets.

pieces on Data Centers from all kinds of outlets:

• The Environmental Impacts of Data Centers Article Series
• AI Hallucination? Proposed Westfield data center appears abandoned by developer  Regarding the previously approved Servistar Data Center
• ‘Protect the water, the air, the land’: Hundreds demand halt on Box Elder data center plan
• Boston Globe “Fight Over Data Centers is a Distraction” 
•  “Is this the future of Massachusetts' love for data centers?
• Arizona governor reverses support for data center tax breaks  Democrat Katie Hobbs had previously backed the incentives as a lawmaker, but on Monday said the industry needs to do more to support the state.
• Gov. JB Pritzker to propose suspending tax incentives for data centers in Illinois  Pritzker, seen as a potential Democratic presidential candidate, is set to call for a two-year pause on the incentives in his State of the State address Wednesday.
• Iowa county adopts strict zoning rules for data centers, but residents still worry  Though the rules are among the strictest in the US, locals say they aren’t enough.
• The Water Economics Of Data Centers Vs. Almond Farms & Golf Courses
• Advocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from data centers amid AI boom  Tech companies’ use of Pfas gas at facilities may mean data centers’ climate impact is worse than previously thought
• Electrical utility megamerger is all about the data centers  NextEra’s blockbuster deal with Dominion likely means higher bills for consumers.
• Greenhouse gases from data center boom could outpace entire nations  Plants from OpenAI, Meta, xAI, and Microsoft could emit more than 129M tons annually.
• Satellite and drone images reveal big delays in US data center construction
• Senators count the shady ways data centers pass energy costs on to Americans​  Senators demand Big Tech pay upfront for data center spikes in electricity bills.

Share your thoughts with City Officials.
Attend Public Meetings, Send Emails, Make Calls

MAYOR
Michael A. McCabe  [email protected]  (413) 572-6201

CITY COUNCIL
City Council  meets - 1st & 3rd Thursdays at 6:00 P.M. in Council Chambers (Room 207)
Summer months -1st Thursday of July and 3rd Thursday of August 
At-Large Councilors
James R. Adams  [email protected]
Dan Allie  [email protected]
Brent B. Bean II  [email protected]
Cindy C. Harris  [email protected]
Daniel M. Knapik  [email protected]
Kristen L. Mello  [email protected]
Nicholas J. Morganelli, Jr.  [email protected]
Ward Councilors  (ward map)
Ward 1, Karen M. Fanion  [email protected]
Ward 2, Ralph James Figy  [email protected]
Ward 3, Bridget Matthews-Kane  [email protected]
Ward 4, Michael Burns  [email protected]
Ward 5, John J. Beltrandi III  [email protected]
Ward 6, William J. Onyski  [email protected]

PLANNING BOARD
First and third Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers (Room 207)
William Carellas, Chair,  [email protected]
Cheryl Crowe, Vice Chair / Clerk,  [email protected]
John Bowen,  [email protected]
Jane Magarian,  [email protected]
Philip McEwan,  [email protected]
Raymond St. Hilaire,  [email protected]
Bernard Puza,  [email protected]
Dylan Sweeney,  [email protected]
Richard Salois,  [email protected]

BOARD OF HEALTH
Board of Health meets - 2nd Wednesday of the month at 6:00 P.M.
Stanley D. Strzempko M.D., Chairperson,  [email protected]
Carrie Hildreth-Fiordalice,  [email protected]
Nitin Bhatnagar M.D.,  [email protected]