Auburn Planning Board recommends one-year data center moratorium
Planning Board · Meeting of September 9, 2026
Auburn Planning Board recommends a one-year data center moratorium and rejects an outright ban. Town Planner Rose Russell presented both options; member Chris Sequeira backed the temporary route, saying "I don't think we have the right amount of land in this town to support it," while resident Eric Richards warned the draft ban's language was "as wide as the Mississippi" and could snag small businesses' server equipment. The board separately approved a scaled-back Eastland Partners warehouse modification at 190 Washington Street, cutting the project from 102,000 to 75,200 square feet across six buildings, and cleared a long-delayed 29,000-square-foot land transfer resolving a Windbrook Acres encroachment.
Two Route 20 hearings, a proposed Dunkin' Donuts at 481 Washington Street and a retroactive parking expansion at 512 Washington Street tied to unpermitted wetland-buffer fill, were continued to September 22 amid unresolved traffic and Conservation Commission questions.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,223 words
Source: the Planning Board meeting of September 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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