Planning Board backs data center moratorium
Planning Board · Meeting of September 23, 2026
Plymouth Planning Board unanimously backs a one-year data center moratorium, then splits over developer oversight rules. The board voted 0-5 against recommending a citizen's petition to tighten zoning on "unified complexes," tied to a heavily graded site at 71 Hedges Pond Road in Cedarville, but then voted unanimously to back a compromise version requiring a special permit, negotiated between petitioners and town staff. Earth Removal Bylaw Committee member Richard Cerkey said developers told the committee the permit requirement was simply their "cost of doing business." Assistant Town Manager Lauren Lind flagged that the original petition exceeded the warrant article's scope since the zoning bylaw defaults special-permit authority to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Separately, the board unanimously recommended a moratorium barring data center permitting from October 17, 2026, to October 16, 2027, with no applications yet filed for Plymouth.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,650 words
Source: the Planning Board meeting of September 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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