Mississauga puts 1-year pause on data centre development

Mississauga city council has approved a motion to put a one-year pause on the development of data centres while it conducts a comprehensive review of the emerging but controversial sector.

In a release, the city said council “approved a motion directing staff to prepare an Interim Control By-law (ICBL) that would prohibit the approval of development of digital infrastructure projects, such as data centres, for up to one year.”

The impending review of the sector would assess “whether updates to City policies and regulations such as the Official Plan and Zoning By-law are needed,” the release adds.

It would also look into how a data centre would impact infrastructure, economic activity, the environment, noise levels, and energy and water consumption.

The city says the review will include public input and help “inform future policies and decision-making related to digital infrastructure while balancing economic growth, sustainability and community well-being.”

‘Let’s do our homework first’: Councillor

Mississauga Councillor Martin Reid introduced the motion at council on Wednesday. CityNews met with Reid days earlier at the site of what he said would be the first massive, hyperscale data centre in the community.

Located on Tenth Line west of Winston Churchill Boulevard and Hwy. 401 and near Lisgar GO station, the site is nestled next to a house, a church, greenspace and an existing warehouse. But just hundreds of metres away, there’s a large shopping centre along with current and proposed housing subdivisions.

When speaking with residents, Reid said he’s heard examples raised of cities in the U.S. involving excessive water and electricity consumption.

Without large-scale examples in the GTA, he said it leaves a lot of uncertainty.

“There are still so many questions that need to be answered, and until we have a fulsome understanding of it this is not something that I feel that I can responsibly support,” Reid said.

“We’re not sure what the tenant is going to be using it for, so there are worst-case scenarios that we read, there are totally safe examples that we read and the reality is that we’re somewhere in the middle with no clear answers.

“Let’s do our homework first before we say yes.”