The planning board at its meeting Monday, July 27, voted to recommend the town council explicitly add data centers to the town’s list of prohibited zoning uses. In its suggestion, the board acknowledged it was a defensive move to protect Warren until proper zoning laws can be established, rather than what could be considered an anti-technology stance.

Board chair Blake Costa said he was motivated to act following a trip to Ashburn, Va., which is considered a data center hub. After speaking with people there, he concluded that centers have significant impact on the communities they are in.

Costa emphasized he wants to get ahead of a problem he feels the board is unprepared for, saying “Data centers are a major land use topic that I don’t believe have a high potential for coming this way, but why wait for it to come?”

He added, "Now, this isn't us saying that we don't think they should be here. This is us saying, right now, we're going to prohibit it until we can come back and amend and set standards for when they do come to Warren because right now there's no standards.

The recommendation locally was doubly inspired by a Smithfield Town Council vote banning data centers taken on May 5. Costa noted that the vote came the day after an application for a complex featuring data processing facilities there.

"Let's not wait until the data center comes up," said Costa. "Let's protect the town and give us time to get through our priorities, and then we can work on it."

While the board was generally in agreement, fellow member Tim White included his concerns, noting the universal disapproval of data centers despite the popularity and overall use of AI chatbots.

“We all contribute to the drive for more of these facilities through use of AI, genealogy databases, photo archives, and digital wallets," said White. "While I do support a moratorium or a reviewable prohibition on these, it needs to be so that guidelines can be created and modified as technology advances and these facilities better suit their environment."

White likened data centers to electric vehicles in their early days, predicting that the technology will get more efficient and less intrusive. He said it is worth leaving the possibility for data centers to have a place in town once it becomes viable. Costa assured the board that zoning ordinances are “living documents” and prohibition can easily be undone and replaced with proper standards once the board actually has the bandwidth to write them.

Associate Town Solicitor Benjamin Ferreira recommended to the board an outright prohibition on data centers was the way to go at this stage. The centers, he said, are not currently listed on the town land-use prohibited list, which comes with an assumed embargo. However, it would be prudent to update the prohibited use list to include data centers specifically.

"Anything not listed, from my perspective, it's not allowed, but now we're going do the affirmative, and say, by the way, this is not, this is strictly prohibited in town, along with these other 10 categories of uses. I think that's just a zoning amendment. I think that it would protect the town," Ferreira added.

While data centers were the focus of the July 27 conversation, the board also heard arguments for a town-use amendment to explicitly allow self-storage facilities by "special use permit."

Jonathan Steel of Prime Group Holdings and his attorney, Fausto Anguila, appeared before the board, seeking to expand the Prime Warren Self Storage facility at 130 Franklin St. Steel shared statistics suggesting the area is underserved for like facilities, which he said are low-impact (they don't generate heavy traffic or demand high public services like police/fire), but generate real estate tax revenue.

After discussion, the board voted to recommend the amendment to the council under the condition Town Planning and Economic Development Director Bianca Policastro draft standards to ensure future facilities align with the comprehensive plan and aesthetic character of Warren. Members added to their recommendation that the town adopt the official state definition of self-storage.

The board also supported approval for the renovation of a property at 241 Water St., with a caveat expressing concern over the potential loss of a downtown-district parking spot, especially since the location features a short-term rental unit.

Finally, the board continued its efforts on a “clean-up package” of the town’s zoning ordinances. The overhaul is currently being drafted by outside consultants and is expected to be delivered in late August. Costa told the board a special meeting in September may be necessary to get the town into compliance with Rhode Island state law.

— Rouette, a resident of East Providence, is a entering his junior year majoring in Journalism at the University of Oregon and interning this summer with The Times-Gazette.