Why The Synergy Report is launching a national best practices series on data center development.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked on complicated real estate and economic development projects where competing interests often seemed impossible to reconcile. Developers wanted certainty and financial feasibility. Communities wanted protections. Public agencies had financial, regulatory, and political responsibilities. And sometimes, everyone seemed convinced that somebody else had to lose for them to succeed.
I’ve never believed that was the only possible outcome.
Over more than 30 years, I’ve worked on everything from major redevelopment projects and public-private partnerships to environmental preservation and challenging land-use negotiations. Those experiences have taught me that the most difficult projects often produce the best outcomes when everyone is willing to understand the competing interests and work toward practical solutions.
That doesn’t mean every project should be approved. Sometimes the right answer is to change the project, move it somewhere else, or recognize that a particular location simply isn’t appropriate.
But just because finding a solution is difficult doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
That philosophy is behind a new initiative from The Synergy Report: examining best practices for data center development across the United States.
Data centers are becoming an increasingly important part of our economy. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and countless digital services depend on the infrastructure they provide. Communities also see the potential for significant investment and tax revenue.
But these facilities raise legitimate questions about land use, air quality, noise, public safety, infrastructure, and their long-term impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
Too often, these discussions become a choice between supporting economic development and protecting communities.
I believe that’s the wrong starting point.
The better question is how we can accommodate necessary infrastructure while establishing clear, enforceable standards that protect the public.
Communities across the country are already working through these challenges. Some are adopting minimum setbacks from residential neighborhoods. Others are establishing limits on generator testing, requiring ongoing noise monitoring, evaluating the cumulative impacts of multiple facilities, or requiring financial assurances for eventual decommissioning.
There is no reason every community should have to start from scratch.
That’s why The Synergy Report is developing a publicly accessible national resource examining data center regulations, policies, and best practices from jurisdictions across the country.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll explore seven key areas: backup generators and air quality, neighborhood setbacks, concentration of facilities, noise and vibration, emergency services, operational accountability, and decommissioning.
The objective isn’t to argue against data centers. It’s to identify approaches that allow communities to make informed decisions, establish reasonable expectations, and hold developers and operators accountable.
Good regulations can benefit everyone. Communities gain stronger protections. Developers gain clearer expectations. Local governments can make decisions based on evidence rather than speculation or political pressure.
We won’t always find a solution that satisfies everyone. And there will be legitimate disagreements about costs, benefits, and acceptable impacts.
But I’ve seen what can happen when people approach difficult problems with a willingness to find common ground.
Just because doing what’s best for a community is complicated doesn’t mean we should settle for doing what’s easiest.
That’s the thinking behind this series, and I hope it contributes to a more thoughtful national discussion about the future of data center development.
