Dover City Council passes a temporary ban on AI data centers within city limits.
City Council approved a ban on all AI data center applications coming through the City of Dover during its October 12th meeting after about two months of discussion and deliberation.
Councilman Brian Lewis says his opposition to data centers goes beyond just a temporary ban.
“I’m going to support your moratorium Ms. Hall, as I indicated before. But let the record reflect that I do not support data centers coming into the City of Dover.” he said.
The ban will last 18 months under the ordinance, and is intended to prevent undue strain on the city’s power infrastructure and any rate increases that might cause.
Councilwoman Donyale Hall says this ordinance is the right move for Dover.
“This is a temporary and responsible measure designed to protect Dover’s residents, businesses, utility customers, infrastructure, and future economic development opportunities while the City establishes clear and comprehensive standards.” she said.
Hall says city staff will research if the City of Dover’s power grid and infrastructure can handle the increased stress of a data center.
She also says they’ll conduct surveys to gather more information on attitudes toward data centers in the community.
Lewis adds he believes data centers do not provide enough benefit for the City to be worth pursuing.
“The statistics and the facts are out there. To me, the environment, people’s health, [and] our infrastructure is more important than jobs.” he said.
Although some calls were made to city officials inquiring about potential data centers in Dover, there are no pending applications for one.
