EAST BRIDGEWATER — August 31, 2026 — The East Bridgewater Planning Board voted unanimously to sponsor a town-wide zoning amendment that would completely prohibit commercial data centers, moving the measure forward to a formal public hearing next month ahead of Town Meeting consideration.
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Convening for a brief special session, the Planning Board acted swiftly on growing regional concerns surrounding the expansion of high-density computing infrastructure. Town Counsel drafted the proposed bylaw text following an earlier board consensus in favor of either an outright prohibition or severe restrictions on such facilities.
The proposed bylaw defines data centers as facilities or buildings primarily engaged in digital data storage, processing, cloud hosting, cryptocurrency mining, or artificial intelligence operations. Crucially, the measure explicitly excludes standard accessory IT hardware—such as standard server rooms and computers used by schools, municipal offices, hospitals, and routine commercial operations—as well as standard public utility and telecommunications facilities, unless those facilities are leveraged for commercial data hosting or cryptocurrency mining. Under the draft language, commercial data facilities would be designated an expressly prohibited use across every zoning district in East Bridgewater.
Planning Board Chair Kevin Reilly explained that the vote served two specific administrative functions: establishing board sponsorship of the zoning article and scheduling the required statutory public hearing. Board Vice-Chair Myles Heger moved to sponsor the article and schedule the hearing for September 21, 2026, at 7:15 p.m., which passed with unanimous support from all five members present.
“Town Counsel, in the meanwhile, has facilitated the preparation of an article, a potential article, which would amount to a ban town-wide on data centers as they’re defined in that text.” — Kevin Reilly, Planning Board Chair
