Ellington Moves Data Center Moratorium Hearing To November

ELLINGTON, CT — Ellington has pushed a hearing on a proposed one-year pause on data centers and battery energy storage systems into November while officials review how the rules would affect ordinary battery installations at homes and businesses.

The Planning and Zoning Commission agreed by consensus Oct. 26 to postpone opening the public hearing until Nov. 23 at the Town Hall Annex, 57 Main St., according to the meeting minutes.

The minutes describe the review as intended to “eliminate conflicts with normal battery installs that are accessory to permitted residential and commercial uses.”

The commission did not adopt the moratorium at the meeting. The new hearing date falls after Nov. 1, when First Selectman Laurie Burstein previously said she expected the pause to take effect, as Patch reported earlier this month.

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Burstein raised concerns about large data centers being built on agricultural land and the energy and other resources they would use, according to the Board of Selectmen’s Oct. 5 minutes.

She said a temporary pause would give the town time to study other communities’ approaches and weigh potential benefits and drawbacks before establishing permanent rules.

The zoning commission authorized Town Planner Lisa Houlihan on Sept. 28 to submit a moratorium application consistent with a draft dated Sept. 22.

The Oct. 26 minutes record no resident testimony for or against the moratorium; the hearing was postponed before it opened.

For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.