Salem council delays AI data center decision to Thursday after packed hearing (Nov. 10)
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The Salem City Council heard about two and a half hours of testimony Monday night on Resolution No. 2026-46, which would declare that AI and hyperscale data centers are not allowed under the city's existing zoning code.
The council did not decide. It voted 7-0 to close the hearing, keep the written record open and deliberate at a special meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12.
City Attorney Dan Atchison said a large volume of written testimony arrived Monday that councilors and the public had not yet seen.
Opponents of the Verrus data center urged a yes vote; Verrus's attorney, the Salem Chamber and building trades workers urged a no vote, saying the city would be changing the rules midstream.
SALEM, Ore. - The Salem City Council put off its decision on whether the city's zoning code already bars artificial intelligence and hyperscale data centers, voting late Monday to close a packed public hearing and take up the question at a special meeting Thursday night.
The council voted 7-0 to close the hearing on Resolution No. 2026-46, keep the written record open and continue the matter to a special meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, for deliberations, according to the city's meeting video. Councilor Brown was absent, and Councilor Nishioka had dropped off the remote connection by the time of the roll call. The motion came from Council President Paul Tigan and was seconded by Councilor Gwyn.
This is a follow-up to our Nov. 8 story on the city attorney's recommendation. The interpretation, if adopted, would apply to the Oakline at Mill Creek AI data center campus that Verrus has proposed in southeast Salem, City Attorney Dan Atchison has said.
Why the council waited
At the start of the hearing, Atchison told councilors the city had received a large volume of written testimony throughout the day that had not yet been posted to the agenda website, so neither the council nor the public had seen it. He asked the council to take all oral testimony Monday and hold deliberations Thursday so councilors could review the written record first. He said about 50 people had signed up to speak.
Before the vote, Tigan said the council heard clearly from residents but that the record was incomplete, and that councilors would consider everything submitted before making a determination. Atchison said staff will prepare a report for Thursday summarizing the written comments and responding to them, and councilors will be able to question staff then.
What the city attorney is asking
In his presentation, Atchison asked the council to interpret "data center facilities" in Salem Revised Code 400.110(e) as not including AI data centers, hyperscale data centers or other facilities whose defining function is large-scale continuous computational processing. He said such facilities are distinctly different from the conventional data centers described in the code, which focus on storage, hosting, networking and telecommunications, and were not contemplated when the council adopted the language in 2013 and 2014.
He described the matter as a legislative proceeding that interprets the code rather than amending it and is not a decision on a particular application, but said any later city decision must be consistent with the council's interpretation.
What speakers told the council
Most speakers opposed AI data centers in Salem and urged the council to adopt the interpretation. Several criticized Verrus's proposed $10 million community benefits agreement, which Salem Reporter reported was sent to the full council ahead of the hearing, and raised concerns about water, electricity and noise. One Ward 7 resident cited figures she attributed to Verrus, including power demand above 420 megawatts at buildout and up to 3 million gallons of water on a very hot day. Willamette News has not independently verified those figures.
Wendy Kellington, an attorney representing Verrus LLC and Alderstone LLC, told the council she opposed what she called a resolution that amends the city's code by interpretation. "You cannot amend codes by interpretation," she said, arguing that city planning staff had previously told Verrus in writing that its proposal was a permitted use.
The chief executive of the Salem Chamber spoke for a business coalition that he said included the Oregon Business Council, Oregon Business and Industry, the Oregon Bankers Association, the Home Builders Association of Marion and Polk Counties and the Keizer Chamber. He said the group was not taking a position on whether data center applications should be approved, but warned the resolution was a significant departure from current land use practice that could make companies wary of Salem. A representative of a developer that said it has built more than 1 million square feet in the Mill Creek Corporate Center said the firm agreed with Verrus that the resolution violates local code and state land use law.
Several construction workers and union members urged a no vote, saying predictable rules matter for family-wage jobs. One speaker said Verrus is proposing more than 1,000 prevailing-wage union construction jobs. Opponents of the project answered that construction jobs are temporary and that the long-term effects on water and power would be permanent.
What happens next
Deliberations: 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. The motion called for a virtual special meeting. At the end of Monday's meeting, the council was told Thursday's session will be held in a hybrid format.
The public hearing is closed, so there will be no new oral testimony, but the written record remains open. The city's hearing notice lists cityrecorder@cityofsalem.net for written comments.
Agendas and materials are posted on the city's council meetings page. Meetings stream on Capital Community Media's YouTube channel.
Separately, the city's 120-day moratorium on data center development remains in place.
Willamette News watched the city's posted video of the meeting. Speaker remarks in this story come from that video. We will report the council's decision after Thursday's meeting.
By the Willamette News Local Desk. Edited by Channing Webb.
Related stories
Sources
Capital Community Media: City of Salem Council Meeting, Nov. 9, 2026 (video)
City of Salem: Notice of public hearing, Resolution No. 2026-46 (via Salem Reporter public notices)
Statesman Journal: Salem City Council to vote on clarifying code to halt AI data centers (Nov. 6, 2026)
Salem Reporter: Verrus offers Salem $10 million package ahead of data center code interpretation (Nov. 6, 2026)
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