Ottawa Construction News staff writer
Mississauga council has agreed to put a temporary stop on approving new data centres while the city takes a closer look at its planning policies for this fast-growing sector.
The motion instructs staff to draft an interim control bylaw (ICBL) that, if council approves it on Sept. 16, would prevent any approvals for data centres and other digital infrastructure projects for up to one year under Ontario’s Planning Act.
This pause will give the city time to conduct a thorough review of how data centres impact planning and whether updates are necessary for its Official Plan and zoning bylaw.
The review will look into how data centres affect municipal infrastructure, economic activity, the environment, noise levels, and energy and water usage. It will also examine the role of provincial and federal governments in overseeing the sector and include chances for public feedback.
Data centres are secure facilities that hold computer servers used to store and process digital information for services such as banking, health care, business operations, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence applications.
Mississauga has received a rezoning request for a data centre in the Meadowvale Business Park. Currently, data centres are allowed in specific employment zones where they’re classified as warehousing, distribution, or wholesaling according to the Official Plan and as warehouse/distribution or science and technology facilities under the zoning bylaw.
A number of data centres are already operating in the city. Staff mentioned that this review will assess whether current planning classifications still fit as larger facilities are proposed.
Staff plans to present the suggested interim control bylaw to council on Sept. 16. If it gets approved, new development of data centres would be banned until the bylaw runs out.
An initial report detailing the study’s scope, consultation strategy, and timelines is expected this fall. Once completed, staff will bring recommendations back to council based on their findings.
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