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Dryden Becomes First New York Town to Ban Data Center
Dryden Once Again Leads the Way
The Dryden town board has become the first New York town to ban data centers after passing a local law last month. The move comes as TeraWulf’s proposed plans for a data center in the nearby town of Lansing advance.
During the town board's Feb. 19 meeting, Dan Lamb, deputy supervisor for the Town of Dryden, said the town board worked with the planning board over last summer and winter to develop the law. He said the ban works by establishing data centers as a unique use of land in the zoning code and not allowing it in any zones, which he said would be the most efficient way to address the issue.
“The way this works is the local law defines it, and we very deliberately don’t put it in our use table,” Lamb said, “and if it’s not in the use table, you can’t do it. I think it’s pretty clear; I don’t think we can do anything unambiguous in what we allow in this town and what we don’t allow.”
The board held a public hearing for the law shortly after the start of the meeting. Both of the people who spoke at the public hearing supported the ban.
Jack Wright, chair of the Town of Dryden’s climate action committee, said that all of the committee’s members, except for the town board liaison, voted in support of the local law.
He thanked the town board for its time and effort, saying that data centers would use a great deal of energy, cause noise pollution and have other negative repercussions on the environment.
“We appreciate you making the effort to protect our environment, and also to protect the Dryden community,” Wright said.
Lamb agreed with Wright’s concerns about energy use, saying it was one of several concerns he had, including what they contribute to the town and their environmental impact.
“I think some folks are asking ‘Why are we doing this?’ and our primary concern is energy use,” he said. “I think we’re all seeing the effect of rising demands on energy and scarcity, and what that can do to energy prices. That was one of our driving interests in not having more of these high-energy-use data centers in our town, leaving less energy on the grid for the other purposes that are there.”
One resident of Freese Road thanked the town board, saying he was “unfortunately involved with the nightmare happening in Lansing,” where the town board failed to pass a moratorium on data centers and TeraWulf is attempting to build a data center in the former Milliken Station power plant near Cayuga Lake. He said he was grateful that the town was taking steps to prevent something similar happening in Dryden.
After the public hearing concluded, the board handled a few other items on the agenda, then unanimously voted to pass the local law. “Now we are the first town in New York to ban data centers and cryptomining,” Lamb said.
David Durrett, Ithaca Times, 3/15/26
The Dryden town board has become the first New York town to ban data centers after passing a local law last month. The move comes as TeraWulf’s proposed plans for a data center in the nearby town of Lansing advance.
During the town board's Feb. 19 meeting, Dan Lamb, deputy supervisor for the Town of Dryden, said the town board worked with the planning board over last summer and winter to develop the law. He said the ban works by establishing data centers as a unique use of land in the zoning code and not allowing it in any zones, which he said would be the most efficient way to address the issue.
“The way this works is the local law defines it, and we very deliberately don’t put it in our use table,” Lamb said, “and if it’s not in the use table, you can’t do it. I think it’s pretty clear; I don’t think we can do anything unambiguous in what we allow in this town and what we don’t allow.”
Jack Wright, chair of the Town of Dryden’s climate action committee, said that all of the committee’s members, except for the town board liaison, voted in support of the local law.
He thanked the town board for its time and effort, saying that data centers would use a great deal of energy, cause noise pollution and have other negative repercussions on the environment.
“We appreciate you making the effort to protect our environment, and also to protect the Dryden community,” Wright said.
Lamb agreed with Wright’s concerns about energy use, saying it was one of several concerns he had, including what they contribute to the town and their environmental impact.
“I think some folks are asking ‘Why are we doing this?’ and our primary concern is energy use,” he said. “I think we’re all seeing the effect of rising demands on energy and scarcity, and what that can do to energy prices. That was one of our driving interests in not having more of these high-energy-use data centers in our town, leaving less energy on the grid for the other purposes that are there.”
One resident of Freese Road thanked the town board, saying he was “unfortunately involved with the nightmare happening in Lansing,” where the town board failed to pass a moratorium on data centers and TeraWulf is attempting to build a data center in the former Milliken Station power plant near Cayuga Lake. He said he was grateful that the town was taking steps to prevent something similar happening in Dryden.
After the public hearing concluded, the board handled a few other items on the agenda, then unanimously voted to pass the local law. “Now we are the first town in New York to ban data centers and cryptomining,” Lamb said.
David Durrett, Ithaca Times, 3/15/26
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