Bridgton select board votes 3–2 to pursue moratorium on data‑center development

The Bridgton select board voted 3–2 to pursue a temporary moratorium on data‑center development, instructing staff and committees to research environmental, water, noise and utility impacts and to prepare options for the board and voters.

A board member moved and another seconded the motion after an extended discussion that included residents and planning‑board perspectives. Supporters said a moratorium would provide a breathing room to learn about the potential consequences — including water use, electric‑grid stress and continuous low‑frequency noise — and to draft locally appropriate standards; opponents warned against appearing prejudicial or discouraging potential economic partners without clear evidence.

Resident Kevin Ray (self‑identified during public comment) noted that other states and utilities sometimes negotiate mitigation and direct-company investment but said that a moratorium is a tool to allow careful local study rather than a blanket rejection. Planning‑board representatives told the meeting that data centers currently are not listed as an allowed use in Bridgton’s schedule of uses and that permitting them likely would require writing new standards and evaluating impacts across scale, traffic, water and utilities.

The board’s 3–2 vote to pursue the moratorium sends the issue for further work: staff and committees will research technical and regulatory questions and outline procedural steps the town would need before any moratorium could take effect (including the requirement, if applicable, for a special town meeting or referendum to enact a binding moratorium under state and local rules).

Next steps: Town staff and the planning board will prepare background materials and recommended options. Board members emphasized the intention is to gain information and draft standards if appropriate, not to foreclose future decisions in advance of that research.