Kearns wants more information on a proposed development that Council was not been made aware of

By Gazette Staff

July 14th, 2026

BURLINGTON, ON

Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns, one of the three people running for the office of Mayor in the October 26th municipal election, has learned that there is a proposal for a technology hub/AI Data Centre that is moving through the Planning Department with no Council involvement.

Lisa Kearns: one of three candidates who want to be Mayor.

Kearns points out that Burlington does not have any Zoning or Land Use provisions related to this type of use, so any applications would be ‘allowed’ without any public or Council input or review.

The location is 3110 South Service Road

Size: two-storey data centre with basement, total of 5,163 square metres

Cooling: proposed to utilize air-cooling (not water-cooling)

Energy draw: estimated at 20MW electricity

Next Steps:

Proposed site for the development on the South Service Road

Kearns plans to move an Urgent Business motion at the Tuesday July 21st City Council Meeting to have Staff report back with options to manage and regulate impacts and options to use planning and non-planning tools to manage this new land use, or an interim control bylaw to allow time to conduct the studies required to control the use of Land, Buildings or Structures for the purpose of new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Centres on lands with Industrial Zoning.

Kearns points out that this land use request was disclosed to Council members after the last Committee meeting and before Council and should be treated as Urgent. She adds that Council becomes lame duck after the upcoming July 21st Council Meeting and can’t make decisions.

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