Everett City Council Sends Data Center Zoning Proposal Back for Further Review

By Neil Zolot

The City Council is still debating how to tailor zoning to Data Centers, resulting in a proposal at their meeting Tuesday, May 26 to amend the City’s Zoning Ordinance data centers to the back to the Subcommittee on Legislative Affairs for further study. “There is more work to be done,” Council President Stephanie Smith said. “What we have today is too broad” — a reference to provisions that allow 20,000 square foot data centers in the Everett Docklands lnnovation District (EDlD) in the Commercial Triangle bordered by Lower Broadway, Revere Beach Parkway and the Mystic River.

She’d like to see more conservative limits on size, a cap on the number of data centers that could be built and data center companies being required to have businesses in Everett. “If you want a data center in Everett, bring your business to Everett,” she said.

A data center is a facility that enables the internet by processing data, such as email, web searches and virtually everything pertaining to the internet. The Science Feedback website reports there are 9,000 in the world, but more are needed and planned. “Without them, our tightly interconnected civilization would not exist,” it explains.

It also reports data centers need and use a lot of power, often drawn from local grids, including power needed for cooling. Up to one-third of the power needed may be for cooling. They can run on solar and wind power, but the inconsistency of those sources requires conventional sources of power as well.

Data centers use water for cooling, the volume of which could increase water use rates for the residents because the volume of use will increase — cited by Smith in her remarks. The same is true for electricity. In effect, residents could be subsidizing the data center by having to cover the cost of more water and electricity being used citywide.

The idea of using non-drinkable water would, theoretically, have less effect because most of the water used by residents is potable. Even water in toilets is technically potable, as is water used for watering lawns, but at multiple Council meetings potential data center developer Davis Companies’ Vice President of Development Ben Masselink has said new technologies use less water than older technologies but require potable water.

Smith was joined by Councillor-at-Large Guerline Alcy Jabouin, now retired former Councillor-at-Large Wayne Matewsky, Ward 1 Councillor Michele Capone, Ward 4 Councillor Holly Garcia and Ward 6 Councillor Peter Pietrantonio in the majority. Councillor-at-Large Katy Rogers, Ward 2 Councillor Stephanie Martins, Ward 3 Councillor Anthony DiPierro and Ward 5 Councillor Vivian Nguyen dissented. Councillor-at-Large Michael Marchese was absent.

Rogers recommended passage after months of deliberation by the Planning Board and various City Council Subcommittees. “I don’t see any advantage in procrastinating,” she said.

“Having something on the books is better than nothing and it can be tweaked,” DiPierro agreed.

Pietrantonio countered, “We should put this back at the Subcommittee level and let the new administration look at it again. We should give the new administration a chance.”

In Public Participation earlier in the meeting, Masselink recommended the matter be referred back to a Subcommittee “so we can study this further. As developers we appreciate flexibility in zoning, but we also support clarity. It’s great for the City to demonstrate clarity so we can communicate to developers attracted to the City.”

He warned, however, that overly restrictive zoning would make a data center “unbuildable” and defeat the purpose of zoning designed to foster development. “I don’t see why we should take recommendations from The Davis Companies on development when our residents indicate they don’t want a data center,” Rogers reacted later in the meeting. “It can’t be left up to a corporation to determine what is best for Everett.”

Stephanie McColaugh of the Planning Board argued against data centers on environmental grounds in Public Participation, as she had in previous meetings.

Other business

In another matter, Chief Development Officer Monica Lamboy briefed the members on proposed changes in the design for the renovation of Everett Square Park. The connection between Broadway and School Street will be changed from a fork to a right angle, which will increase the size of the park to accommodate open space and seating. The change will eliminate easy access to the School Street “Shootout” many people use to get to Revere Beach Parkway/Route 16 without having to travel through traffics lights on Broadway. It will also reduce open space between the Parlin Library and the intersection. In discussion, Pietrantonio noted that flagpoles and memorials would be pushed back closer to Parlin. In addition, different textures will be used on pavement to indicate to drivers they are driving on a surface that has pedestrian traffic and to pedestrians that they are walking on a surface that cars may be using.

The project will cost $4 million, including $3 million in grants. Lamboy warned that grant money could be lost if the City doesn’t act.