Malden Planning Board Votes 9-0 to Recommend Ban and Moratorium on Data Centers

FOXBOROUGH — June 11, 2026 — Malden's Planning Board unanimously recommended banning data centers citywide and imposing a one-year moratorium on related permits, while also granting two special permits at its June 11 joint hearing with the City Council Rules and Ordinance Committee. The data center vote, 9 to 0, advances Council Paper No. 276-2026, sponsored by Ward 5 Councilor Ari Taylor, to the full City Council, which must act by September 8, 2026 or hold a new public hearing; the moratorium clock began May 22, 2026. Planning Director Michelle Ferguson called the dual approach — an outright prohibition in all zoning districts paired with a moratorium — a "belt and suspenders" strategy. The board also voted 9 to 0 to grant a special permit for a one-room acupuncture clinic at 75 Pleasant Street and 8 to 0 to permit overnight dog boarding at Big Daddy Doggy Daycare, 10 Maplewood Street, with seven conditions including submission of a proposed floor plan to the building inspector prior to kennel occupancy.