Everett Planning Board passes ordinance to regulate data centers

Local news

A new zoning proposal would limit projects in a prime redevelopment area, reflecting growing concern about the industry’s statewide footprint.

Written by Annie Jonas

April 8, 2026 | 11:58 am

4 minutes to read

As backlash against data center development in Massachusetts grows, Everett is moving forward.

The Planning Board voted unanimously April 6 to uphold an ordinance that would restrict data centers in the Everett Docklands Innovation District (EDID), a 100-acre redevelopment site near the Mystic River. The proposal now heads to the City Council, which must approve it twice before it takes effect.

The move puts Everett among the first municipalities in the state to proactively regulate a rapidly expanding industry, and one of growing concern.

Shift from right to narrow Controlled

Section 37 of Everett’s current zoning code was enacted in 2024 to create the Everett Docklands Innovation District (“EDID”), a district intended to encourage economic development in a former industrial area of ​​the city.

Under Section 37, the construction of data centers in EDID is permitted by law. The proposed zoning ordinance would amend this section of the zoning ordinance by setting parameters around data center development. Data center proposals will need a discretionary special permit and facilities will be capped at either 20,000 square feet or five megawatts, whichever is smaller.

Any data center must also be an additional use within a different, larger development project.

“We didn’t want to see a standalone data center, because that prevents any kind of revitalization of the site,” said Matt Lattanzi, Everett’s director of planning. He pointed to the data center above a Macy’s store in downtown Boston as a prime example of what an “attractive” data center could look like, if proposed in Everett.

The projects will also be subject to Planning Board review for standards related to noise, water, electricity and job creation.

The ordinance specifically relates to EDID, a 100-acre site that developer The Davis Companies has proposed turning into a mixed-use development with high-tech industrial manufacturing, laboratory/office, retail, manufacturing and/or residential space.

Local interest, national trend

Everett’s action comes as communities across the state and country worry about the rapid expansion of data centers, which power cloud computing and artificial intelligence but require massive amounts of electricity and water.

Massachusetts currently has 45 data centersaccording to DataCenterMap, most of which are located in the Boston area. Despite this, resistance is growing.

And in Lowell, city council members recently approved what is believed to be the state’s first moratorium on new data center development. said Governor Maura Healey It will not support the ban On data centers, instead, he said, the country needs more of them.

Nationally more than 140 active groups in 24 states They campaign against new data centres, citing concerns about noise, air pollution and pressure on local resources.

Harvard Public Health analysis One Virginia facility found that data centers can generate up to $99 million annually in health-related costs, even when operating within state regulations.

These concerns are top of mind in Everett, which Planning Board member Stephanie McCullough said “has been a dumping ground for the Greater Boston industry for a long time and hasn’t gotten any benefit from it.”

From potential bans to targeted limits

Initial regulatory discussions in Everett focused on banning data centers outright, reflecting strong public opposition. But the law was later amended to restrict and regulate EDID’s data centers, according to McCullough.

The decree received significant popular support, including A Petition With more than 1,200 signatures.

Davis Companies, the developer of the site, did not propose building a data center, McCullough and Lattanzi said. But they have a special master plan permit in front of the planning board that could allow for a wider range of uses (such as a data center) that are allowed under current zoning.

McCullough said Everett tries to act proactively — before a data center project is formally proposed — rather than react after the fact.

“I think a lot of communities have seen these data centers pop up in their backyard, and there’s really no recourse at this point,” McCullough said. “So we are moving proactively.”

Environmental justice at the center

Officials are portraying the ordinance as an environmental justice measure — parts of Everett are designated as an environmental justice community — with large low-income residents already burdened by the concentration of industrial uses.

“Historically we often get uses that no one wants but everyone needs,” Lattanzi said. “But we’re trying to reshape this future and take control of our destiny a little more.”

For many in Everett, a city known for its industrial heritage, the debate is not about whether the Docklands should be developed, but about what kind of development should take root there.

“I’m a development specialist in the city, but I think it’s clear that this is not the development that Everett is looking for,” McCullough said.

What comes next?

The Planning Board’s approval of the ordinance now heads to the City Council for two votes, and a separate citywide version of the measure is also in the works.

If Everett’s approach is adopted, it could serve as a model for other municipalities experiencing similar pressures.

“It’s the Wild West,” McCullough said, calling for clearer standards at the state level. “It’s incredibly inefficient to have to do this citywide at the citywide level.”

Lattanzi also hopes Everett’s efforts will spark action statewide.

“We may be among the first to move in Massachusetts, but I would be shocked if we were the last.”

As demand for digital infrastructure continues to rise, the result in Everett may provide an early signal that remote communities in Massachusetts are ready to go to shape — or resist — the physical footprint of the digital economy.