Canton Town Board Unanimously Enacts One-Year Data Center Moratorium

Town Meeting · Meeting of July 8, 2026

Canton enacts one-year data center moratorium as assessor announces December retirement. The Canton Town Board voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt Local Law 2 of 2026, barring new data center construction through May 31, 2027, following a public hearing in which seven residents urged a longer prohibition. Kathy Schrader, chair of the Canton Sustainability Committee, submitted a draft moratorium from Potsdam for the board's review and called for at least a full year from enactment and stronger enforcement language, saying corporations "have an army of personnel and lawyers and funds" that can "run circles around us in short order." The town attorney advised that the one-year term, renewable through additional public hearings, is "way more defensible" than a multi-year ban if challenged by a developer.

Separately, Town Assessor Cindy Brand announced her retirement effective December 21, 2026, after overseeing a townwide revaluation that raised Canton's taxable assessed value from $417 million to approximately $699 million, a roughly 67 percent increase, with the village of Canton rising from $183 million to $286 million.

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Source: the Town Meeting meeting of July 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.