Fort Wayne City Council nixes data center moratorium
Two ordinances designed to slow the pace of data center development in Fort Wayne failed in the city council Tuesday night.
Proposed by Councilwoman Rohli Booker, the first ordinance would have created a committee to evaluate the environmental and community impact of hyperscale developments. It failed three votes to five.
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A second ordinance proposed by Booker to create a moratorium on data center development failed in a 4-4 tie. Both ordinances had been tabled since September.
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In re-introducing the ordinances, Booker told colleagues she did not feel that either ordinance sent a message that the city was not open for development. Rather, it sent the message that the city wants to get its own business in order before the next development is proposed, she said.
Councilman Dr. Scott Meyers said that the Fort Wayne plan commission is beginning work on definitions for data centers and hyperscale development.
Neither ordinance would have impacted the Google data center already under construction in Fort Wayne.
