At this week’s council meeting, petition gatherer Nick Serritela said he’s been inundated with concerns about a data center. “We need to have a vote on this,” he said. Photo:WSSR-TV
By Angelina Keizer, UNE Intern
The Sanford City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to bring forward an emergency moratorium on data center development at their next meeting, May 20.
The 90-day pause would give the city time to begin a review of its zoning and permitting ordinances before a project like the one proposed for the area could break ground. The measure would be designed to address public concerns about environmental and utility impacts.
Most people in attendance and several city councilors spoke in favor of a moratorium.
“Data centers are unsustainable by nature.” said resident Dagan Vandemark. “We don’t need to have this. It doesn’t have to come … Just because AI is here doesn’t mean it has to be in Sanford.”
“We need something better,” said Nick Serritela, who said he’s received a lot of feedback collecting signatures on the Aries sludge gasification proposal, and the overwhelming sentiment has been opposed.
“We want a moratorium as much as you want us to have a moratorium,” said Deputy Mayor Maura Herlihy.
City Manager Steve Buck began the meeting by noting that the Maine Legislature approved a moratorium, but the bill was vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills, and an override attempt fell short.
“When residents hear about a large-scale, first-of-its-kind industrial development here in Maine, concern is not only understandable; it is appropriate,” Buck told the council.
He argued that many public concerns are influenced by examples from other states where development happened rapidly without clear local frameworks, but he maintained that development in Sanford and Maine does not happen in that manner.
Buck pointed out that large-scale developments are already subject to comprehensive local review through the Planning Board and site plan review process, including evaluations of impacts on neighboring properties, traffic, buffering, stormwater management, and noise. He also noted that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection reviews environmental impacts, water use, and site disturbance, while the Maine Public Utilities Commission and ISO New England oversee electrical grid capacity and rate structures.
“The issue before the council is not whether regulation exists, but whether additional clarity and specificity would benefit the community before such development occurs,” Buck said.
He suggested that a temporary moratorium could be a reasonable policy tool to allow the city to consider adding data center-specific standards for noise, water usage transparency, emergency power systems, and coordination with electrical infrastructure planning.
The decision before the council, he said, is not a choice between allowing development without oversight or prohibiting it entirely, but rather whether a deliberate step to refine the existing framework will better position the city to manage this type of development responsibly.
Despite the city manager’s measured tone, the public in attendance was largely opposed to any data center development. Residents voiced concerns about noise pollution and its effects on wildlife, and some worried about potential toxins that could make future generations sick. People from neighboring towns, including Kennebunk, Acton and Wells, also expressed concerns about how a data center in Sanford might affect their communities.
Alex Clary said he’s spoken to hundreds of people while collecting petition signatures on the Aries project. “Not a single person has spoken in favor.” He acknowledged the development would be on private land but added, “These are our resources. This is our water, this is going to be our power grid … we need to take a step back and slow it down.”
Kurt Woltersdorf warned about the effects of infrasound, physically felt sound that is below the threshold of human hearing, which he said “has been shown to cause fatigue, nausea, dizziness, irritability, depression, seizures, etc.”
Lawrence Furbish was one of the few who spoke in favor of data center development, which he said would bring in much needed tax revenue to under-funded schools and city services. “The city has great history of turning its back on development. The result is we don’t have enough money to run this city the way it should be run.”
A memo from Buck dated May 1, attached to the meeting agenda, outlined key ordinance elements including electrical grid and ratepayer protection, siting restrictions to industrial zones, noise and generator controls, water use and environmental standards, self-powered facility preferences, infrastructure impact analysis, fiscal transparency, phasing controls, decommissioning requirements, and ongoing monitoring and enforcement.
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