The Town of Tonawanda joined the state of New York and more than one hundred municipalities around the country in enacting a moratorium on data center construction.
The unanimous vote on Monday night comes weeks after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order placing up to a one-year pause on new data centers above 50 megawatts of power. Tonawanda's calls for 20 megawatts or more.
For months residents have voiced concerns at town meetings over a proposal from a developer to build a 300 megawatt data center at the former Tonawanda Coke site on River Road.
"There is only one application for a data center here in Tonawanda," said Supervisor John J. Flynn at the beginning of the public hearing. "There are no other applications. Our moratorium, which mimics Gov. Hochul's executive order, states that new applications are not going to be accepted for a year."
Tonawanda officials say this pause will give them more time to research new possible regulations on data centers, and to lobby state leaders for framework.
"I know there is concern about the moratorium that a developer will be able to slip through the governor's executive order and our moratorium. I can tell you unequivocally that is not true. I'm telling you now, there is no back door."
Riverview Technology and Innovation Campus, the proposed data center in Tonawanda, provided a short statement to BTPM News following Monday's vote.
"This is an evolving issue, which we will continue to review with legal counsel to determine our path forward," said Riverview.
