The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary will ask for public feedback Thursday on the idea of banning artificial intelligence data centres from rural parts of the Beaver Valley.
The meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at the Fruitvale Memorial Hall, will consider an amendment to zoning bylaw as part of a broader review of the Area A Official Community Plan, area director Ali Grieve said.
She said they are considering an “extra layer of protection” for the area that prohibits data centres entirely.
“We’re not about being anti-technology or anti-investment,” Grieve said. “We just want to make sure our own community has a voice at the table. Right now, they are not permitted uses, but we’re adding just that extra layer to say it’s a prohibited use.”
However, she added that such a ban wouldn’t permanently close the door on a data centres, but would require proponents to first demonstrate a clear community benefit. Any proposal would be subject to an application process and review by residents and regional district staff.
“We don’t want to wait until something like that becomes an issue for us,” she said. “So we’re just going to get ahead of it, ensuring our community has a voice on what happens in our community.”
Grieve said the proposed amendments would prevent major developments from proceeding without “proper planning, transparency and above all, community involvement.”
She said she isn’t arguing that data centres aren’t needed, but questions how big they should be and where the best place to put them is. She added that before a company sets up shop, a community deserves to know what benefit it will provide.
Grieve said the issue has been discussed at the RDKB board table for “a couple of years,” and while she had heard that someone was looking around the area for a potential data centre, nothing came of it.
The subject of data centres has been under scrutiny locally since a Christina Lake company, DMG Blockchain Solutions, indicated that it would transition from crypto currency mining to an AI data centre, something that is allowed under a 2022 rezoning.
The RDKB board has given first and second reading to the amendment and Thursday’s public hearing is a legal requirement before the board can proceed to third reading and adoption.
“This amendment is about protecting the integrity of our planning process,” Grive said. “It ensures that the people who live here have a meaningful voice in decisions that could have long-term impacts on our community. I believe that is both prudent and responsible governance.”
