Essex County Council will debate a notice of motion about AI data centres this week.
Council will meet on Wednesday evening, where a notice of motion by Kingsville deputy mayor Kimberly DeYong will be discussed and voted on.
DeYong issued a notice of motion at their July meeting, requesting that the County of Essex take the lead on developing a policy framework for AI data centres.
The motion asks for county administration to undertake a review and study of the county’s land use planning policies in relation to AI data centres.
It also asks that a report be brought back regarding what scope of work was undertaken, the proposed plan to consult with Indigenous communities and the public, information on the current federal, provincial, and municipal regulations, as well as any updates on recent legislative changes.
Essex mayor Sherry Bondy says members of County Council have received well over 150 email from concerned residents.
“So looking at it from a county perspective makes a lot more sense because we have to see where are they coming in Essex County because we all live, work and play here in Essex County and we want to make sure that we’re addressing residents’ concerns when it comes to data centres.”
She says there’s a lot to learn and know when it comes to AI data centres.
“We may need to look at our zoning bylaw and to see how we can prohibit data centres. But we really need to do our homework too, because that could prohibit other operations that we may want. So it’s really something that we need to all do our research on to make sure that we’re not eliminating good jobs with the data centres as well.”
Bondy says nothing has been approved from a county level and there are a lot of questions.
“There are some things that are kind of alarming from a political perspective. We see that Hydro One is putting down new hydro lines to Leamington and Kingsville. They say it’s for greenhouse growth, but we know greenhouses have a moratorium on them due to water. So why would they invest millions of dollars in hydro infrastructure if something like this could never come?”
An online petition is circulating and has already gained dozens of signatures from those against AI data centres.
Council will meet Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.