Oakville Pauses Data Centre Development for One Year

No company has applied to build a data centre in Oakville, and for the next year none can. Council passed an interim control by-law at a special meeting on Tuesday that temporarily restricts new development of data centres, enterprise computing facilities and similar high-intensity digital processing facilities across town.

The pause gives the town a year to study the question. Staff will review Oakville's Official Plan policies and zoning rules for these facilities, looking at noise, vibration, emissions and whether the buildings fit beside what is already there. The review also covers energy supply and affordability, water supply, other utility infrastructure and environmental sustainability.

The town has not received a formal application, though preliminary industry discussions suggest there may be interest in Oakville. Council was clear the by-law is not a permanent ban. It sets a deadline for the town to gather evidence and decide whether its planning framework needs to change.

How the one year works

Section 38 of the Planning Act lets a municipality pass an interim control by-law for up to a year while it completes a land use planning study, with the option to extend to two years total from the day it was enacted. Tuesday's decision follows a mayoral direction issued July 21 and a staff memo Council received on August 10 covering the infrastructure, environmental, legislative and economic considerations.

"A data centre could happen anywhere in Town. There is no application before us, and this by-law gives us a good base from which to move forward in our research," Mayor Rob Burton said. Councillor Tom Adams said the vote puts safeguards in place "before any proposals come forward," and that the town needs to understand the effects on land use, infrastructure, energy and water first.