Chelmsford Town Meeting to Vote on Bylaw Restricting Large Data Centers

Chelmsford's Town Meeting will vote on Article 23, a proposed bylaw that would effectively prohibit medium- and large-scale data centers within the town. The bylaw would categorize data centers into four types, defining an accessory small data center as one using a maximum of 1 megawatt of power and occupying less than 20,000 square feet of floor area. The proposal is being put forward to preemptively address the issue.

The proposed regulation directly addresses data center zoning in Chelmsford, a community near Lowell, which hosts a large data center. The bylaw could affect the competitive market for large data centers in the neighboring area.