Burlington staff ask Ontario to address data centre noise, heat and water use, citing the South Service Road proposal

The submission

On August 13, Ontario's Ministry of Energy and Mines posted a proposal on the Environmental Registry (ERO 026-0853) for assessing new data centres against three pillars: advancing economic development, protecting data security and digital sovereignty, and investing in communities and earning public trust. The assessment could inform decisions on whether large new data centres may connect to the electricity grid. The same posting proposes a separate electricity rate class for large new data centres, for example those above 1 megawatt. Comments closed September 12.

City of Burlington staff filed a submission on the last day of the comment period. It was shared with Council in the October 2 Council Information Package (memo DGM-61-26), which notes that because of the short consultation period the comments have not been approved by Council, and that the Province will be told if Council wants anything added or changed.

What staff asked the Province for

Staff said they are generally supportive of the three pillars as high-level principles, but that the pillars do not emphasize environmental and public health issues such as heat, water use and noise. Among the points the submission says the Province must, at a minimum, address:

• Clarify in the Planning Act and Provincial Planning Statement whether data centres fit within the definition of an employment area.
• Clarify that once-through cooling will not be permitted, and that where water infrastructure is insufficient a municipality may refuse connection to the water and wastewater system.
• Explain how existing tools will handle noise, environmental, land-use compatibility and emergency-preparedness issues, including on-site power generation and battery storage. Staff note the Province's D-6-1 industrial categorization criteria do not currently include data centres.
• Consider requiring a council's "willing host" resolution where a data centre proposes electricity generation or battery storage, and a willing-host community benefits agreement, or alternatively a "data centre tax" flowing to municipalities.
• Consider a distinct MPAC property classification so municipalities could set a higher tax rate for data centres and other energy-intensive uses.
• Consider the full life cycle of facilities, including decommissioning.

Staff also suggested the framework compare data centres with other employment uses using measures such as jobs per megawatt and economic impact per megawatt, and urged the Province to treat electricity capacity as strategic infrastructure so that new large loads do not limit local utilities' ability to serve new homes and businesses.

The South Service Road proposal

The submission cites a site plan application for a 20-megawatt, air-cooled facility at 3110 South Service Rd., saying staff review has focused on noise and heat emissions and that staff are also evaluating the potential fire risk of its battery back-up system. The City's project page describes a proposed two-storey data centre of about 5,163 square metres on the former Mother Tucker's/Tucker's Marketplace site in Ward 4, with 136 parking spaces (52 surface and 84 underground), offering colocation, cloud computing, data storage and related services to commercial and institutional users.

The City's FAQ on the application says that, based on the information provided, it is not an AI or hyperscale facility, although colocation customers could run AI workloads. It says data centres are already permitted in the City's employment zones, so site plan review is a technical process with no required public meeting, and that Council cannot direct staff to refuse a site plan for a permitted use. The application was deemed complete on July 6; the FAQ gave September 4, 2026 as the City's decision deadline, after which the applicant may appeal a non-decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal. As retrieved on October 9, the project page still listed the application as under review.

What residents told the City

Staff gathered comments on employment areas and data centres at the City's Food for Feedback event and the Orchard Community Picnic, both on September 12. The summary attached to the memo lists concerns about noise, heat, water and electricity use, effects on wildlife, cost to residents, security, and how neighbourhoods would benefit. Some participants said data centres should remain in industrial areas, and others supported attracting AI-related jobs. Staff say the feedback will also inform Burlington's Official Plan review.