AIBRIEF
Council passed a unanimous motion to flag any 'hyperscale' application (50+ MW, generally AI oriented) so it can freeze the project via an interim control bylaw while a framework is written.
Ottawa's city council didn't ban data centres this week. It built itself a kill switch instead.
On Wednesday, council unanimously passed Coun. Stéphanie Plante's motion directing staff to draft a data centre policy framework and to flag any "hyperscale" application, defined as facilities using at least 50 megawatts of power and generally AI-oriented, per city GM of strategic initiatives Debbie Stewart. Once flagged, councillors can pass an interim control bylaw to freeze the project while the framework is being written.
That mechanism is the story. "An interim control bylaw could shut down an application on the grounds that a framework is still pending," Marcia Wallace, the city's GM of planning, told council.
The trigger is the new 50 MW threshold. Ottawa currently has no data centre policies in its top planning document, though zoning allows the facilities in some industrial areas. The framework, due back next year, is to assess projects by size and environmental impact.
Hydro Ottawa told the city it is facing "extraordinary pressure" from dozens of applications from large-load customers, with the bulk of that demand coming from data centres, the grid strain that prompted the vote.
Plante framed the motion as a balance, not a ban. "This motion isn't anti-data centre," she said, calling it "a reasonable space between two extremes." Coun. Tim Tierney said he was glad it stopped short of a moratorium and noted the federal and provincial governments are already working on data-centre rules. Hamilton's council rejected a data-centre moratorium earlier this year.
What remains unknown: which of the "dozens" of pending applications will be paused, and whether the framework due back next year will use the freeze tool at all.