North Cowichan moves to require public hearing for potential data centres

North Cowichan council has unanimously backed a move to prohibit data centres as a permitted land use in the municipality, a decision intended to ensure any future proposal would have to come before council and the public.
Coun. Chris Istace brought the motion forward at the Sept. 2 meeting, describing it as a proactive measure in response to the rapidly evolving data-centre industry, particularly facilities associated with cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
“I think the resident