Westfield City Council temporarily bans data centers

The Westfield City Council has passed a moratorium when it comes to data centers. 22 News reporter Claire Overton joins us live in studio after learning what it took to get there. Sierra and Christina, in a unanimous vote the Westfield City Councilors have passed a moratorium on a temporary ban of data centers. This is my home, this is your home, so please do the right thing. A number of concerned Westfield residents speaking to Westfield City Council just before they voted to enact a moratorium on data centers in the city. The moratorium passing unanimously during the special meeting July 6th. Supporting the data center moratorium in Westfield, Mass., is a necessary and responsible step to protect municipal resources, the local environment and taxpayers. Westfield Mayor Michael McCabe telling 22 News he is not always a fan of moratoriums In this case, I certainly understand why they wanted to hit the pause button here. There are certain questions that haven't really been answered by the proponents of the data center. Questions regarding the noise from generators, emissions from the center, and consumption of water and electricity in the city. While residents showed their opposition to the data center, the mayor said there actually may be a benefit for the permitted data center when it comes to residents' utility bills. The money that would go to the gas and electric would go in as revenue. If it kicked it up over the 8% revenue threshold, then that would actually go back to the rate payer would have the effect of alleviating rate payer costs in the city of Westfield, which is obviously a good thing. The moratorium won't impact the already permitted Service Star data center, which allegedly has $4 million of tax money coming to the city, as well as hundreds of construction jobs over the time period it will take to build it. We did reach out to Eric Bartone, a managing member of Service Star Realities LLC, and we're still waiting to hear back. Working for you, Claire Overton, 22 News.