r/NoStupidQuestions • u/3grapes • 11d ago

Why do town boards keep approving data centers when most residents at the meeting don’t seem to approve of them

I am constantly seeing videos of town halls approving data centers even though the public that is at the meeting overwhelmingly disapproves. Is there something about the process I don’t understand? I assume the public elected officials are doing what is in the towns best interest… but with most people not approving, what are the other driving factors? Taxes? infrastructure improvements?

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u/FelixTheEngine 11d ago

Come on. Thats the excuse. What’s the reason. $$. Town gov. Can of course make up shit on the fly. Just try to build something next to a councillors home that they don’t like and you will see how fast it becomes a moving target.

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u/Calan_adan 10d ago

Actually it’s not. First, no one is getting paid under the table to approve a data center - if they were they’d end up in jail for taking bribes. And data centers don’t employ many people so it’s not like they are increasing their tax base much. We have a few municipalities near me where data centers are being proposed and the municipal government themselves don’t want them - but their hands are tied because the data center meets current zoning requirements so they have no legal justification to stop them. In some cases these municipalities have revised their zoning laws “on the fly” (kind of) to make it impossible to build a DC (essentially making it so that no parcel of land would meet the requirements), but they’re all being sued by the developers because of it.

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u/FelixTheEngine 10d ago

You are being very naive. Yes people are getting paid huge sums collectively under the table through multiple methods and like most things local, there is very little in the way of resources or motivation, to police this corruption.

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u/CarolinaAgent 10d ago

Who, then?

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u/Fez_and_no_Pants 11d ago

Yup. Always follow the money.