City Council - Planning, Development, and Transportation Committee Hearing on Docket #1718

Executive Summary

On October 19, 2026, the Boston City Council's Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation held a public hearing on Docket #1718, an order sponsored by Councilors Miniard Culpepper and Brian Worrell proposing a text amendment to the Boston Zoning Code to prohibit data centers in all zoning districts. The committee heard opening remarks from councilors and testimony from city administration officials, labor representatives, health care and higher education leaders, environmental justice advocates, and academic experts. Discussion centered on balancing the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing needs for Boston's hospitals and universities against the heavy electricity, water, and infrastructure demands of commercial data centers. Administration representatives from the Planning Department and Department of Innovation and Technology indicated they do not support a blanket citywide prohibition, instead advocating for updated zoning definitions, threshold-based reviews, and alignment with the C40 Global Urban Data Centers Pact. Following testimony from panelists and members of the public, no vote was taken, and Docket #1718 remained in committee.

Call to Order, Opening Statements, and Communications (Docket #1718)

Committee Chair Sharon Durkan called the hearing to order at 2:08 PM and outlined the hearing procedures, noting that Docket #1718 was referred to the committee on May 11, 2026.
Chair Durkan stated in her opening remarks that while municipalities nationwide are grappling with data center impacts on water, electricity, and noise, Boston must proceed cautiously and avoid knee-jerk bans. She emphasized that hyperscale facilities are unlikely to locate in Boston due to land and energy costs, and that the city must distinguish between massive commercial facilities and computing infrastructure supporting universities, medical centers, and last-mile computing.
Co-sponsor Councilor Miniard Culpepper explained that he filed the amendment proactively to define data centers and make them a forbidden use citywide while protecting standard server rooms and educational infrastructure, expressing concern for environmental justice communities facing grid strain, air pollution, and noise.
Councilor Edward Flynn noted that a downtown data center operates in his district supporting medical, educational, and commercial infrastructure, and highlighted Governor Maura Healey's executive order regarding local control and community benefits agreements for large data centers.
Co-sponsor Councilor Brian Worrell emphasized the need to establish a baseline understanding of existing data center impacts, zoning regulations, and potential municipal revenue beyond property taxes.
Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune and Councilor Benjamin Weber noted the national context around resource-intensive computing and the importance of protecting grid reliability and climate goals without burdening residents.
A letter of absence from Council President Liz Breadon was read into the record expressing regret for her inability to attend.

City Administration Presentation and Council Questions (Docket #1718)

Jeff Thomas, Special Assistant to the Chief of Planning, and Shinpei Takeda, Chief Information Officer, presented the administration's position.
The administration testified that it does not support an outright citywide prohibition on data centers. Mr. Thomas noted that current zoning regulates "telecommunications and data distribution centers" as conditional uses across most of the city, with allowable use restricted to three industrial areas: the Newmarket Industrial Development Area (IDA), the Roxbury Community College subdistrict, and the E Street light industrial area in South Boston.
Any large facility would face stringent review under Article 80, BPDA Board approval, and the Zoning Board of Appeal; therefore, no imminent risk of uncontrolled hyperscale development exists.
Officials reported that Mayor Michelle Wu recently signed Boston onto the C40 Global Urban Data Centers Pact to develop strict standards for environmental impact and community equity.
In response to questions from Councilor Culpepper, Mr. Thomas agreed that zoning definitions are outdated and focused on traditional telecommunications and data delivery rather than modern AI compute processing. He committed to collaborating with the Council to draft updated, modern definitions.
In response to Councilor Worrell, officials stated that Boston has roughly four traditional telecommunications facilities, with others embedded within private medical and educational institutions, and agreed to follow up regarding reporting under the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) and potential licensing fee structures.
In response to Chair Durkan and Councilor Weber, officials agreed that land and energy costs naturally discourage hyperscale facilities in Boston, while threshold-based permitting or subdistrict mapping could protect necessary local computing while mitigating grid and resource strain.

Stakeholder Testimony from Institutional and Labor Representatives (Docket #1718)

Sam Cahill, representing Longwood Collective, testified that member institutions in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area rely heavily on advanced computing infrastructure for patient care, clinical research, diagnostic imaging, and operations. He requested that any zoning amendment explicitly exclude healthcare, academic, clinical, and institutional computing infrastructure to avoid unintended disruptions.
Daniel Daly, business representative for IBEW Local 103, testified on behalf of union electricians who construct and provide 24/7 maintenance for existing data facilities. He advocated for "plans, not bans," stating that projects meeting strict environmental standards while providing high-paying union jobs deserve an individual review process rather than an outright prohibition.

Expert and Community Panel Discussion (Docket #1718)

Mary Wambui, a resident of Lowell representing Honest Future for Lowell, shared experiences with a 50-megawatt data center in South Lowell that received $77 million in tax incentives but created fewer than 40 permanent jobs while generating noise, localized flooding, and grid strain. She urged Boston to assert strong municipal control rather than relying solely on state regulations.
Hessann Farooqi, Executive Director of the Boston Climate Action Network and member of the BERDO Review Board, testified that eight buildings currently report as data centers under BERDO (with at least one major downtown center underreporting). He called for proactive standards that safeguard ratepayers from rising energy costs and require high-road union labor for clean construction.
Tristan Thomas, Director of Policy and Law for Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), advocated for a 10-megawatt threshold for data center restrictions and urged the city to require cumulative environmental impact analyses and affirmative Environmental Department certification prior to any approvals.
Professor Ayse Coşkun of Boston University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering presented technical frameworks for grid-responsive computing and power flexibility. She explained that data centers can adjust non-urgent computing workloads during peak demand periods to support grid resilience, and recommended policies focused on grid impact assessments, energy efficiency standards, and measurement/verification protocols.
Michelle Brooks, Senior Organizer with the Massachusetts Sierra Club, warned that a full ban might shift extractive facilities to less-resourced communities. She proposed requirements including 24/7 carbon-free energy, prohibitions on fossil backup generators, non-potable water usage, and Project Labor Agreements.
Tish McMullin, Executive Director of the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, requested explicit exemptions for non-profit healthcare data operations, stressing that life-saving patient care, genomic research, and digital health records require robust local and co-located computing infrastructure.
During questioning by Councilors Culpepper, Worrell, Flynn, and Weber, panelists elaborated on job creation realities, cumulative community impacts, flexible power tariff models, and the upcoming municipal guidance expected under the Governor's executive order by year-end.

Public Testimony and Adjournment (Docket #1718)

Cyril Clement, Environmental Justice Fellow at the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA), testified in support of prohibiting new data centers, citing concerns over escalating utility costs, excessive water and energy consumption during climate events, and post-boom industrial blight.
Kate Archard, a Brockton resident, provided testimony comparing speculative data center growth to late-1990s power plant deregulation, advising the Council to protect environmental justice neighborhoods, utilize smart grid thresholds, and carefully scrutinize institutional exemptions.
Shaton Green, representing the Boston Building Trades Unions, testified in opposition to a blanket ban, emphasizing that modern civic functions and high-skilled construction careers depend on reliable digital infrastructure, and urged collaboration on project-specific labor and energy standards.
Following the conclusion of public testimony, Chair Durkan announced that the hearing was adjourned and Docket #1718 would remain in committee.