Data Center Reps Face the Guillotine, Flee Public Hearing

Key Points:

• Residents of Salem, Oregon, strongly opposed a $5.1 billion data center project proposed by Verrus, expressing their discontent at a public hearing where a man brought a guillotine on a trailer as a symbol of protest.
• Verrus representatives left the hearing early, citing safety concerns, while citizens criticized the company for secrecy, particularly due to a non-disclosure agreement that kept the project hidden from the public for over a year.
• The public also challenged the developer's lack of transparency on critical issues like water and electricity usage, as Verrus had not yet submitted a land use application to the city.
• The city council faced criticism for low attendance, with one member absent and the mayor attending remotely, but ultimately responded by unanimously voting to explore banning NDAs with developers and creating a data center task force.
• A temporary moratorium was imposed, halting all data center projects in Salem for at least 120 days, demonstrating the influence of community activism on local development decisions.