Wilmington moves to permanently ban data centers through new zoning bylaw

WILMINGTON — May 26, 2026 — Wilmington Select Board advances permanent data center ban and closes $10.75 million land deal. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize a friendly order of taking for 333 Andover Street, the former Shraga Farm, at an authorized price of $10,750,000 minus $42,000 in fire department response costs and a $75 water bill owed by the sellers. Town Manager directed the Economic Development Committee to draft a definition of a data center for referral to the Planning Board, which would then write a bylaw prohibiting data centers in all zoning districts — a measure that would require a two-thirds town meeting vote to enact or later repeal. Residents Rob Fasulo and Paul Scheller both warned the board that zoning loopholes, including a research-and-development use category in the town's industrial zones, could allow data centers to enter under a different name before the bylaw is in place. On the Shawsheen Valley Technical High School front, the board learned the school committee voted to increase its current-year budget by $1.9 million from its certified E&D account and transfer the funds into a capital stabilization account to self-fund a facilities feasibility study — making Wilmington's previously approved $300,031 town meeting contribution unnecessary and subject to rescission.