Proposed Data Centre in Burlington: What We Know

Thank you to everyone who has reached out with questions about a proposed data centre in Burlington. I appreciate your patience as I consulted with city staff to get you the facts. The city has now create a dedicated webpage at burlington.ca/datacentres to provide information and updates as we receive them.

I have heard and share the concerns that residents have about the potential impact of data centres on water, noise, and power supply and rates, at a time we want to ensure sufficient power for community priorities like housing, economic growth and shifting to clean energy sources. We also recognize data centres respond to the growing use of data, online services, cloud computing and more digital applications. 

I’m committed to ensuring that community interests are protected in all that we do, and that we provide transparent, balanced and accurate information. 

Here is what we know so far:

What is proposed:

The City of Burlington has received an application for a data centre on the former Mother Tucker’s/Tucker’s Marketplace site at 3110 South Service Road. This is an industrial area of the city. It is proposed for 17 megawatts. For comparison, the Hamilton proposal was for 400 megawatts of power. It will be air-cooled not use water.

The use is permitted in our Official Plan and Zoning bylaw for this industrial area. Halton Region also permits data centres. However, these are dependent on zoning, servicing capability and provincial electricity grid evaluations. 

Halton Region bylaws state that municipal water may not be used as “cooling water” so any data centre in the region must be air-cooled, as this proposal is. Burlington Hydro is reviewing the application to determine energy capacity.

Review process:

The applicant only requires site plan approval. As part of city staff's review process, they will assess the application for conformity to our own bylaws, and will review noise and other impacts according to provincial environmental standards and other regulations. Burlington Hydro, Halton Region, Conservation Halton and other agencies will have an opportunity to provide input. Any comments, concerns or conditions from these agencies will inform staff’s review and any conditions of the proposal. Staff will assess the proposal and supporting technical reviews before making any decisions. That review is underway, and it is premature to determine the outcome.

Role of Council:

The Province of Ontario through the Planning Act has mandated that planning staff are the approval body for site plan, not council. Therefore council has no ability to "undelegate" this approval from staff to make a council decision. As a result, Council is not the decision-maker regarding this proposal. However, we can establish appropriate regulations, and I'm committed to supporting a review of that. We can also advocate to other levels of government for matters outside our jurisdiction, to ensure appropriate and consistent standards.

If planning staff do not make a decision on this matter within a provincially prescribed time frame, the applicant can appeal on the grounds of "non-decision" to the independent Ontario Land Tribunal. Similarly, if city council considered an Interim Control Bylaw to temporarily delay issuing a permit, that also doesn't stop a potential appeal for “non-decision” to the Ontario Land Tribunal. 

The Tribunal is an independent provincial agency, and an appeal takes the matter completely out of staff's hands. Our staff will work with agencies to review the application, understand the impacts and provide a response that protects the interests of everyone in our community.

In other jurisdictions, Hamilton is considering an Interim Control Bylaw related to larger data centres that are 50 megawatts or larger. This is consistent with a proposed New York State moratorium on data centres more than 50 megawatts. The proposed data centre in Burlington is less than half that size, at 17 megawatts.

Transparency and public input:

Site plan review is typically not a public process, but a matter between staff and an applicant. However given the community interest, questions and concerns regarding data centres, I have worked with our staff to ensure that the public is informed and a dedicated source of information has been created to provide accurate information as this proposal is reviewed. 

Additionally, I will be sharing all community feedback I receive from residents with staff, so your questions and concerns can be considered in this process.

Need for standard federal and provincial regulations:

On the larger issue of data centres as a whole, I recognize and share the concerns around excessive use of power and where these are located to keep potential noise away from residential neighbourhoods.

We know that demand for data centres is growing across Ontario, and the country, especially in response to the federal government's strategy to control our own data and use these centres to foster technical and digital innovation.

I believe that there need to be standard regulations at the federal and provincial  level to govern this use across the country to protect communities, rather than a patchwork of solutions with each municipality having to assess these matters on a case by case basis. 

To that end, I will be working with staff, council and local MPs and MPPs on advocacy that we as a city can do to other levels of government to create consistent standards that will protect all members of our community. 

City Council meets next Tuesday, June 21 beginning at 9:30am. During that meeting, I will be presenting a resolution to City Council seeking the federal and provincial governments regulate data centres in a consistent manner. I will also be co-sponsoring a motion to receive a report back from staff on options to regulate data centres, and the potential of an Interim Control Bylaw. Residents can submit written correspondence to the clerk, or request a delegation to speak on these matters. Once the agenda is posted I will share it with the community. You can reach out to the clerks here clerks@burlington.ca

Sincerely,

Marianne Meed Ward
Mayor of Burlington