The council says the delay will allow the town to examine noise, emissions, infrastructure, and land-use effects of energy-heavy facilities.
OAKVILLE – The Oakville council has decided to put a one-year hold on data centre development. This pause will give town staff time to review policies related to the potential impacts of these controversial facilities.
The interim control bylaw was officially approved at a special council meeting on Aug. 11 and applies to data centres, enterprise computing facilities, and similar high-intensity processing sites.
This break will let staff investigate issues such as noise levels, electricity demand, and how compatible these sites are with land use-concerns that often come up regarding computing infrastructure.
Councillor Tom Adams from Ward 6 introduced the motion, pointing out “growing concerns” about large-scale data centres and the necessity to better understand their complex and energy-intensive effects on land use.
“Further study is not only appropriate, it’s responsible,” Adams stated.
“Oakville deserves clear, evidence-based understanding of how data centres interact with our electricity, our water, our wastewater, our telecommunications infrastructure, our environmental goals, our employment lands, the character of our neighbourhoods, and most importantly, the health of our residents-including impacts from noise, vibrations and other air emissions,” he explained.
This decision follows news that a 320 MW artificial intelligence data centre might be developed on a 25-acre property at 3480 Ninth Line in Ward 6.
The Canadian company HIVE BUZZ HPC bought the property from the Bucci family on May 15 for $12 million.
A few days later, they announced plans for an industrial-scale AI infrastructure facility-also known as a gigafactory-in some location within the GTA between Waterloo and Toronto. They aim to have this $3.5 billion facility operational by late 2027.
The company hasn’t replied to requests regarding its plans for the Oakville site.
While Oakville hasn’t received any formal development proposals yet, town staff mentioned they’ve “participated in pre-consultation discussions that indicate potential market interest in Oakville.”
The moratorium isn’t specifically aimed at the Ninth Line property but will apply across all new data centre developments in Oakville.
Councillor Natalia Lishchyna from Ward 6 supported Adam’s motion. She emphasized that it’s crucial for the town to make decisions based on solid evidence.
“Taking the time to study these issues is not about prejudging the outcome or saying no to innovation,” she said. “It is about making sure we have the facts before us and the appropriate policies in place before making decisions that could have long-term consequences.”
Councillor Sean O’Meara from Ward 1 backed the one-year pause but warned against missing out on possible advantages of having data infrastructure in Canada.
“Either we figure out how we’re going to control our own information and our own privacy and our children’s privacy or other countries are going to control it,” he stated. “So we have to be very careful about what we’re trying to do.”
Councillor Jeff Knoll from Ward 5 encouraged town staff to collaborate with other municipalities facing similar challenges regarding facility development.
A report shared with councillors during their Aug. 10 meeting outlines key aspects concerning data centre developments.
Oakville joins other cities dealing with difficulties related to these controversial centres.
A recent vote by Mississauga councillors resulted in a one-year moratorium on new data centres while Burlington and Hamilton councils turned down such measures.
Mayor Rob Burton noted that there could be challenges ahead for Oakville’s moratorium.
“It is a fact that an interim control bylaw can be appealed so it may very well happen that we will be tested,” he said.
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