Bangor City Council extended its ban on data center construction for another six months Monday night.
Councilors unanimously supported the extension.
The freeze will give city staff more time to draft potential regulations on data centers before considering any proposals to build one here. The extension comes as panic around artificial intelligence ratchets up across the country and bipartisan opposition grows against data center construction.
City staff are working with consultants to develop regulations and could potentially finish that work in the next six months, Planning Officer Anja Collette reported at a committee meeting earlier this month. Staff are also planning to do public outreach and get feedback from residents as part of that process, she said.
Most Americans oppose AI data centers in their areas, including a majority of both Democrats and Republicans, a Gallup poll found earlier this year.
Bangor’s ban was initially approved for a 180-day period in April. The measure was fast-tracked amid a sudden influx of “development pressure from data centers,” according to the ordinance.
City staff proposed the moratorium after a developer with the San Francisco-based company Kratos AI approached the city in March about potentially building a data center in the city, according to emails the Bangor Daily News obtained through a Freedom of Access Act request.
The CEO, Zander Steele, did not respond to a request for comment earlier this year.
Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a year-and-a-half statewide data center ban in April, prompting backlash within her own party.