As I do more searching on AI data centers, the algorithms are doing what they are designed to do — they are serving me up all the reels from influencers and advocacy groups educating their followers about the data center projects in play in their community with eye-catching videos and information to join town hall meetings. Public opposition is real and growing. The warning signs are everywhere. But this does not tell the full story.
Hyperscalers have committed nearly $700 billion in capital expenditure for 2026 — almost double last year with just as much anticipated for 2027.1 More than 300 data center bills have been filed across 30+ states in the first six weeks of the legislative session — many addressing ratepayer protections, energy policy, and tax incentives.2 At last count, 54 local moratoriums have passed, with 12 states and national legislation proposing moratoria.3 Dozens of local communities have enacted moratoriums recently including Denver, CO and Detroit, MI, with an additional 27 local moratoria in Michigan and 15 communities in the state of Georgia alone.4 Prior to this year, more than 15 other Georgia localities enacted moratoriums. The opposition, driven by uncertainty and lack of transparency, is leading to projects coming to a halt. Despite the historical precedent of community benefit agreements (CBA), just one CBA is in place in Lancaster, PA.
Moratoriums are temporary. AI will accelerate the next industrial revolution — the question is timing. Five years, ten years, or even longer. The buildout is real. Enterprise adoption is real. The uncertainty is when returns materialize and who bears the cost if the timeline extends.
Communities deserve to participate in the upside. But most lack the infrastructure and information to negotiate. The public appears poised to choose between moratoriums that lock them out or deals that lock them in.
In this brief, I look to build the case for CBAs as the binding mechanism we need to shift from opposition to participation.
Moratoriums Fall Short
Municipalities are pushing back with success. Chandler, Arizona unanimously rejected a data center proposal. Loudoun County, VA — the county with the highest concentration of data centers — tightened zoning requirements. Local governments retain authority over zoning and permitting in most states, and they’re using it.
But that authority isn’t guaranteed. States can take it away. West Virginia did exactly that in 2025, stripping local governments of authority over data centers and microgrids.5 Hood County, Texas abandoned its proposed moratorium after a state senator threatened legal action. South Dakota moved the opposite direction, passing legislation to protect local control.
Most states haven’t weighed in yet. The window for local negotiation remains open — which is precisely why the capacity to negotiate matters now.
Developers are backing down where communities organize. Projects have stalled or withdrawn in Chesterton, Indiana (over water concerns)6 and multiple Virginia localities after George Washington University’s opaque land sale to Amazon drew public scrutiny. The entry point is not legal authority — it’s public engagement that creates conditions for policymakers to act.
In Newton County, Georgia, residents experienced dry wells and sediment buildup after Meta's $750 million data center began operating — but the project was never subject to community negotiation. The county is now projected to face a water deficit by 2030.7
The pattern is observable: local moratoriums emerge where regulatory frameworks don’t exist. Local actions gain traction because local leaders hear directly from constituents and act in the absence of alternatives. But even when moratoriums pass, they face industry pressure. And Newton County, GA is a cautionary tale. What communities deserve is more direct negotiation backed by organized constituencies.
The bipartisan signal on data center legislation is strong. The regulatory framework communities need is emerging — but not fast enough to match the pace of development. Moratoriums don't build that framework. They pause the clock without changing the terms — and as I outlined in When the Boom Exits, communities bear the longest clock with the least leverage.
Lancaster as Proof of Concept
Lancaster, Pennsylvania is the only AI data center in the country with a community benefit agreement in place.8 When Chirisa Technology Parks proposed a $6 billion CoreWeave facility, the city didn’t reach for a moratorium. It negotiated.
The discussions took months. The result: 100% clean energy backed by 10-year contracts. A 20,000-gallon daily water cap with closed-loop cooling. Strict noise and air quality standards, independently verified. A $20 million community fund. Decommissioning requirements. A buyer succession clause ensuring any future owner upholds the terms. Court-enforceable environmental commitments. No tax incentives from the city.
Council voted 6-1 to approve — not without opposition, but with enforceable protections that zoning alone could not deliver.
The question is not whether Lancaster achieved good terms. The question is why Lancaster is the only one.
The Intermediary Gap
300 state data center bills introduced. 54 local and 12 state moratoriums. 1 CBA.
The gap is not willingness. Communities want to participate. The gap is infrastructure.
Pennsylvania’s HB 1834 mandates community benefit agreements for data centers over 150 MW — but provides no funding for community technical assistance. The mandate creates a requirement without the capacity to fulfill it.
The Better Data Center Project — formed by former federal workers in 2025 — receives four to five requests per week for technical assistance. And on a recent webinar, I learned they are providing pro-bono support to more than 30 community-based organizations and Tribes across 25 states. They exist because the infrastructure does not — yet.
Some communities face compounding disadvantages. Water-stressed regions. Areas where grid infrastructure is already inadequate. Communities that lack the baseline capacity to engage a negotiation process designed for well-resourced counterparties. The technical support available to Lancaster is not available everywhere — and for some communities, the terms that would be adequate are different than the terms that would be adequate elsewhere.
This is the Intermediary Gap in practice: the capacity to negotiate exists in Lancaster but not in the 54 communities that defaulted to moratoriums.
CBAs are how communities align the clocks — how they negotiate decommissioning provisions, stranded cost protections, and benefit-sharing that spans financing cycles. Without CBAs, communities bear the 30–40 year timeline with no say in terms.
The moratorium is not the solution. It’s the signal that the solution doesn’t exist yet.
Communities are not saying no. They’re asking for the capacity to say yes — on terms they can live with. The question isn’t whether AI infrastructure will be built. It’s whether the intermediary infrastructure will be built fast enough to matter.
Futurum Group, “AI Capex 2026: The $690B Infrastructure Sprint,” February 12, 2026. The five largest US cloud and AI infrastructure providers have committed $660-690 billion for 2026, nearly double 2025 levels.
MultiState, “State Data Center Legislation Faces Local Zoning Battles,” January 16, 2026.
Good Jobs First, Data Center Subsidy Tracker, March 2026.
Colorado Sun, “Denver to seek moratorium on new data centers,” February 24, 2026; WEMU, “City of Ypsilanti passes data center moratorium,” March 4, 2026; WHMI, “Data center moratorium enacted in Howell Township,” November 2025. Michigan now has 27+ communities with active moratoriums per WKAR News tracker.
West Virginia HB 2100 (2025). See MultiState, “State Data Center Legislation Faces Local Zoning Battles,” January 2026.
Ceres, “Drained by Data: The Cumulative Impact of Data Centers on Regional Water Stress,” September 2025.
Eli Tan, “Their Water Taps Ran Dry When Meta Built Next Door,” The New York Times, July 14, 2025.
Brookings Institution, "Why Community Benefit Agreements Are Necessary for Data Centers," January 29, 2026. See also City of Lancaster, Community Benefits Agreement, November 2025.