By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Kingsville Deputy Mayor Kim DeYong will ask County of Essex Council to direct administration to undertake a study of the County’s land-use planning policies – such as Official Plans and Zoning By-laws – in relation to artificial intelligence (AI) data centres at the August 5 meeting.
She would like that review undertaken in consultation and cooperation with the County’s seven local municipalities.
The Notice of Motion was presented at the July 15 meeting, giving other County Councillors – consisting of the mayors and deputy mayors of the seven local municipalities – the opportunity to collect feedback from their municipal staff and constituents before voting.
The thing that stood out to DeYong included hearing of potential human health and environmental concerns, which motivated her to craft the motion.
When she was at the recent Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) meeting, she heard of the struggles being experienced in Hamilton on this file. Her initial thought was that she had to bring this up and get ahead of it locally.
Through her motion, she’s hoping the County can set the framework and complete the study that will allow the seven local municipalities to alter or implement new bylaws, so they can regulate the matter however they see fit.
“Ultimately, it will be up to the municipalities to do this,” DeYong said.
As part of the motion, DeYong will also ask that County Administration report back to County Council with an initial report outlining the scope of work of any study to be undertaken, including financial and staffing resources and any need for external consultants. She will also ask them to report on the proposed plan to consult with Indigenous communities, the public engagement strategy, information on the current regulatory environment for AI data centres at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government, as well as any updates following recent legislative changes.
Information from the Province’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and electrical utility service providers that operate within the County of Essex on the potential costs and other impacts to electrical infrastructure will also be asked to be included.
Upon receipt of the initial report and recommendations, she will also ask Council to consider whether a study is required to be completed by a third-party consultant, and whether additional planning tools are necessary prior to a third-party study being conducted, based on the contents of the initial report and options provided by administration.
She has heard some criticism from individuals who are not thrilled that she has necessarily brought this file up at the County-level. They want to see Kingsville just do something.
“I just want to assure people the County won’t be implementing anything municipally… the study will provide the needed information on what it is we need to regulate and the framework that the municipalities can then implement or not.”
She believes it will be better if the study is implemented regionally, as that would ensure consistent policy across the County.
“Anybody looking at doing this business would know if you are bringing it here, this is what this area expects.”
“I’m not sure what the right answer is,” DeYong admits. That is because as soon as one begins to look into it, “you realize just how many unknowns there are, because they are still relatively new in terms of governance.”
To her understanding, there is no provincial regulation yet.
In hindsight, she thinks about greenhouses and what policies might have been put in at the municipal level 50-years ago, had it been known then some of the issues with resources that are being dealt with currently.
What DeYong has heard is that AI data centers require a lot of resources, such as hydro and water. She had concerns about the quality of the wastewater and how it could potentially harm the environment. She’s also heard concerns about sound and noise pollution.
She also spoke about the unknowns, such as the impacts on animals and the individuals who would have to live around them.
“We don’t know any of that,” she said.
Leading up to that August 5 County Council meeting, DeYong encourages residents to connect not only with their County Council reps, but their municipal Council reps as well.
She spoke about how the region is looking at a significant hydro upgrade, and an AI data center could be on that radar, but that is not known.
“I don’t think locally, municipalities are preparing for this as if they know. I don’t think they know,” she said, adding she wants to see in policy not just permitted use but an understanding of what municipalities do not want to allow regarding data centres.
In her experience as a member of Council, DeYoung noted that often regulations are created after something has been implemented, reactively. So, she is not surprised there is no regulation yet, but that puts the onus even more so on municipalities, because that level of government is the one going to actually have to deal with any potential consequences, as it is their communities, their environment, their human health.
DeYong sees similarities between this file on AI data Centres to her work on safe drinking water.
“It’s about being protective, and it’s about the precautionary principle and making sure that we’re not turning a blind eye to introducing something that isn’t fully understood that could cause harm.”
Since she is in a role where she could be protective. “That is what I am going to do. I am going to do my best to be protective of the people and the environment that we have to live in.”