Vancouver City Council to vote on pause to new AI data centre projects
Councillor Lucy Maloney is pushing for a framework to assess environmental, infrastructure, and employment impacts before approving large hyperscale data centres.
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Vancouver City Council is set to consider a motion Thursday, July 15 that would pause approval of large new data centres while the city develops a framework to assess their community impacts.
OneCity Councillor Lucy Maloney introduced the measure citing concerns about hyperscale data centres' high consumption of electricity and water, plus pollution, waste heat, and noise. The motion points out that while such facilities generate significant returns for investors, host communities often capture minimal economic benefit.
Two Telus AI centres are planned for Vancouver—one at 111 East 5th Avenue in Mount Pleasant and another at Beatty Street and West Georgia Street near BC Place. The facilities would scale to over 60,000 graphics processing units and 150 megawatts of computing capacity by 2032, drawing heavily on BC Hydro electricity.
Maloney's motion recommends council direct staff to report back on creating a public impact requirement for data centre projects. Before rezoning or permitting, applicants would commission third-party assessments addressing water, greenhouse gas emissions, air contaminants, noise, heat impacts, and employment effects.
The motion also notes these hyperscale facilities differ significantly from conventional storage data centres due to their scale and energy needs, presenting new challenges for cities. It raises concerns that they would occupy limited commercial and industrial land without creating as many post-construction jobs as other uses.
