Potential Danbury Data Center Draws Concerns, Opposition

DANBURY, CT — A potential data center development at The Summit in Danbury is drawing concerns from nearby residents over electricity costs, noise, environmental impacts and property values.

Residents of the neighboring Rivington condominium community recently met with developer Dan Bertram to discuss the potential project and its impact on the surrounding neighborhood, according to state Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan, who attended the meeting.

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The Summit, the former Union Carbide headquarters, is being considered for a data center development. However, no formal application or development proposal has been submitted to the City of Danbury, according to Allie-Brennan.

During the meeting, residents raised questions about the project's potential effects on electricity rates, infrastructure, the environment, noise levels and property values.

Bertram told residents he was beginning a sound study to better understand the potential impacts on nearby neighborhoods, Allie-Brennan said.

Following the meeting, Allie-Brennan publicly announced his opposition to the potential development.

"First, I do not support the discussed data center development at The Summit," he wrote in a Facebook statement Tuesday.

The lawmaker also said he intends to introduce legislation during the next legislative session to eliminate existing tax incentives for new data center applicants and establish stronger protections for surrounding communities.

Those protections would include assessments of electricity demand, water use, emissions, noise and neighborhood impacts, along with measures intended to prevent residents from bearing infrastructure costs associated with such projects.

Allie-Brennan said he would also consider supporting a temporary statewide moratorium on approvals for new large-scale data centers while stronger safeguards are developed.

"Economic development matters, but it must be balanced with affordability, environmental responsibility, and the interests of the people who already call these neighborhoods home," he wrote.