Essex County Council has approved the preliminary steps towards creating a municipal framework surrounding AI data centres. The motion, brought forward by Kimberly DeYong, Kingsville’s Deputy Mayor, was unanimously approved at a meeting on Wednesday. “I think this motion allows us to get ahead of this and be proactive and actually put stuff in place before it’s enforced upon us,” DeYong said. As part of the motion, staff will return with a report, which will guide the plans to review and study the county’s land use planning policies in relation to AI data centres. The report will feature plans for consultations with the public, county stakeholders, and Indigenous communities. Rather than await decisions and policies from upper levels of government, DeYong said the intent is to give the county its own choice. In other municipalities, she noted data centres have been proposed under existing planning definitions, such as light industrial. “When you cannot clearly define things, you don’t know necessarily where they’re going to try to put them, and I think that’s part of what this work has to do is help define all the parameters so that we can put in controls that are defendable if we are challenged,” DeYong said. The report is expected to detail planning measures and responsibilities of municipalities and the county. To date, there have not been any public plans to create an AI data centre in Essex County. Hilda MacDonald, the county’s Warden, admitted that while she doesn’t want data centres in Essex County, they will become necessary somewhere in Canada to avoid reliance on other countries. “I don’t want them here, I can tell you that, but I think realistically, we have to realize if we want to be independent from those countries, that they don’t have influence over our data and our information,” she said. An amendment to the motion was made to ensure it is not used to endorse, encourage or facilitate the development of a data centre in Essex County. After talks with a colleague in Michigan, where some municipalities have implemented moratoriums, Michael Akpata, LaSalle’s Deputy Mayor, asked staff to look at reports and studies available stateside. “I’m just asking to make sure that we reach out to the US municipalities in the greater Detroit area that have put moratoriums on data centers, beg, borrow, steal their information. While I understand that the legislation will not be the same, the economic and the environmental impact studies would be identical,” Akpata said. The meeting was attended by about 30 residents who applauded as the voting results were announced. A petition received by council featured 64 pages of signatures from residents who support the establishment of a municipal framework on data centres. Before council’s discussion, Tyler Reh, an engineer from Harrow, cautioned officials about the dangers of having a data centre in the county. “So there’s lots of reasons that I’m concerned, and you should be looking at each one of these. Specifically, what I would like to see is the laws make it so it’s as hard as possible for these things to exist. I don’t want them in my backyard,” Reh said during his delegation. Concerns ranged from the impact of noise levels dangerous to humans and wildlife, to the threat of chemical pollutants, which could leak into the wastewater system, and the risk of substantially higher energy use on an already fragile region. “We cannot manage a 21st century technological boom with outdated and disjointed municipal bylaws,” he said. “I urge county council to mandate a synchronized, region-wide regulatory framework that will protect our water, secure our power grid, and [put] the safety of Essex County residents first.” Before the meeting, Reh studied current gaps in each municipality’s bylaws and planning policies that could make them vulnerable to the development of a data centre. He added the potential financial and economic gains are minimal compared to the risks. “We have a fragmented patchwork in our municipal laws that leaves our communities exposed to noise, zoning loopholes, ecological hazards, and severe energy grid strain.” At the county level, staff said they cannot implement a county-wide moratorium on data centres. However, at the town level, municipalities could look to use an interim control bylaw while the matter is studied. A preliminary report detailing next steps is expected at a meeting in September.
