Likewise, the Town Board has remained just as consistent in its stance. If a proposal is submitted to the Town, they will look at it. So far, that has not happened.

Supervisor Rich Lewis received a phone call prior to the March 11 meeting of the Town Board from the property owner of Sugar Hill Golf Course expressing a desire to welcome a data center to the property. In recent years, the former Sugar Hill Golf Course has deteriorated into an eyesore from what was once a beautiful lakefront property along Route 5.

A data center is not a permitted use of land in the town of Portland, but Lewis and the Board decided that if a project is proposed, it will follow the proper procedures to determine whether a change to the Town Code or a special use permit is warranted. If all of the necessary steps are followed before the project makes its way to the Town Board, they will consider approving it.

“The resolution, really, didn’t have any teeth for anything other than to say that there was general support and we were open to looking at what they were proposing,” Lewis said.

The March 11 resolution was not approving a data center itself. No plans have been submitted to the Town Board or any other entity involved in the process. The Town Board issued its resolution for the sake of encouraging any development to proceed in the Town through the proper channels.

Many residents of the town and nearby communities, however, were outraged that the Town Board would not rule out the idea of a data center before it even moves forward.

After the OBSERVER reported that the Town issued the resolution in general support of the idea, more than 50 people showed up to the monthly meeting in April to object to a data center in Portland. Public comments on the matter lasted 45 minutes, and the speakers were entirely united in opposition to a data center.

A month later, roughly 50 people showed up again to speak out against data centers. Public comments lasted roughly 35 minutes, and like the previous meeting, the speakers were entirely against the idea.

Roughly a dozen members of the community showed up again in June, and approximately the same amount showed up again in July. The latest public comment period lasted just under nine minutes, with several speakers sharing their opposition to data centers.

Residences throughout the town of Portland have posted signs opposing a data center being located in the town. This sign, sponsored by the Grape Belt Community Group, is pictured at the intersection of Bear Lake Road and Burr Road.

Among those to speak this time was Kelly Perlette, a resident who organized a petition online through change.org against a data center in Portland. The petition has more than 3,500 signatures. Perlette, and several others in the community, asked the Board to reconsider its stance and rescind its resolution of general support for the idea.

During Perlette’s address to the Board in July, Lewis opened the door for his fellow Board members to make a motion to rescind the resolution. He looked down the table in each direction, but no member of the Board said a word. “I’d entertain a motion, and I don’t see or hear anybody saying anything,” Lewis said.

Matthew Susskraut, a Portland resident who previously asked the Board to enact a moratorium on data centers, asked why the Town issued a moratorium on battery energy storage systems, but not data centers. Town Attorney Joel Seachrist explained that data centers are not permitted in the code, while battery energy storage systems could have been permitted under the code at the time of the moratorium.

“The difference here is that our code simply doesn’t permit data centers. A moratorium would be moot. We don’t allow them to begin with,” Seachrist said.

Before any project could be approved, the code would need to be amended to allow for data centers as a permitted use of land. The Town Board would also need to receive site plans and environmental assessments, and the project would need to be deemed in compliance “with all applicable laws and regulations.” Public hearings would need to be scheduled before any project is approved.

Back in May, Board member Tammy Thompson explained her stance on the process, stating, “If you have a project … that could be a benefit to our community, I want to know about it. But if it doesn’t work, then that’s what this process is about. It’s about eliminating the things that are not good, and approving and watching for the things that are a benefit to us. The initial ‘opening of the door’ is, ‘Tell us your idea and can we even walk through the paces?’ Right now, there are no paces.”

The Town Board’s official statement on the matter, which was read aloud by Thompson at the April meeting, stated, “The Town Board encourages responsible development that strengthens the local tax base. A stronger tax base benefits all taxpayers in the community.”

Board members say the town is significantly tax exempt because of sites such as Lake Erie State Park and the Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility. The Board previously objected to an inquiry from New York State with an eye on Sugar Hill becoming a state park. In April, several residents said they would have rather paid higher taxes for another park than entertain the thought of a data center in Portland.

Residents continue to make their stance known, whether it be at Town Board meetings, through a petition, on social media, or with various signs on lawns throughout the town. But from the Town Board’s perspective, unless a formal proposal is submitted to the Town, with all of the proper steps followed by the time it reaches their desk, all of the outcry is much ado about nothing.

“At this point, it’s not an issue because nothing is happening,” Lewis said.