Freetown voters limit new data center district to small centers, back water line match by 2 votes
Voters amended the Planning Board's bylaw so that only Tier I data centers, the smallest class at 2 megawatts or less, can be permitted in the new overlay district, and they put $1.5 million into two savings funds.
FREETOWN Freetown voters approved a data center district off Howland Road on Monday night but limited it to small centers, amending the Planning Board's bylaw to prohibit centers drawing more than 2 megawatts there. The article passed 87 to 36 by hand count at the Special Town Meeting at Apponequet Regional High School, clearing the two-thirds vote a zoning change needs, according to the town clerk's unofficial record.
Voters passed all 15 articles, and the closest vote was Article 5, the $250,000 match for a $1 million EPA grant toward a public water line to the Transfer Station area, which passed 47 to 45 by hand count. The town clerk's unofficial record counts 125 voters, of 7,840 registered, at a meeting that opened at 6:30 p.m. and adjourned at 8:36 p.m. Voters took up the two zoning articles, 10 and 11, before Article 1.
| Article | What it does | Money | Vote needed | Result | Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fire Department command vehicle | $100,000 | Majority | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 2 | Highway Department truck | $325,000 | Majority | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 3 | Tree warden's budget | $5,000 | Majority | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 4 | Water and Sewer Commission budget | $33,000, water and sewer retained earnings | Majority | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 5 | Match for a $1 million EPA grant, water line to the Transfer Station area | $250,000 | Majority | Adopted | 47 to 45, hand count |
| 6 | Add to the economic development grant | $25,000 | Majority | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 7 | Prior-year bills, Highway Department | $2,442 | Nine-tenths | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 8 | Retiree benefits (OPEB) fund | $250,000 | Majority | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 9 | Board of Health to spend opioid settlement money | $39,356.34 plus interest | Majority | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 10 | Craftsman/Tradesman Bay zoning use | None | Two-thirds | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 11 | Data Center Overlay District, small data centers only | None | Two-thirds | Adopted as amended | 87 to 36, hand count |
| 12 | Add library assistant and public administration intern to the pay plan | None | Majority | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 13 | Freetown Elementary School maintenance stabilization fund | $500,000 | Majority | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 14 | Prior-year bills, Water and Sewer | $12,630.78, water and sewer retained earnings | Nine-tenths | Adopted | Unanimous |
| 15 | Capital Stabilization Fund | $1,000,000 | Majority | Adopted | Majority, declared |
Small data centers only
The Planning Board's article, as printed Oct. 20, would have allowed data centers of every size, from small Tier I sites up to Tier III centers drawing more than 10 megawatts, in the new Data Center Overlay District on Assessors Map 210 Lot 13 and Map 209 Lot 1, each with a Planning Board special permit and site plan review, and would have prohibited them in every other zoning district. The version voters adopted, presented on a revised handout at the meeting, allows only Tier I centers, defined as a maximum projected demand of 2 megawatts or less at full build-out, counting on-site generation except solar.
The adopted text says that "all other Data Centers, including Tier II- Moderate Impact Data Centers and Tier III- High Impact Data Centers, are prohibited in the Data Center Overlay District and all Data Centers are prohibited in all other zoning districts." A Tier I center still needs a Planning Board special permit and site plan review, and an applicant must show in writing that enough electric capacity exists or can be added without hurting service for existing customers, according to the handout. A motion to reconsider the vote failed, the moderator declared.
Water at the Transfer Station
Article 5 puts $250,000 toward the town's 20% match for a $1 million EPA grant to engineer and permit a public water line extension to the Transfer Station area on Howland Road. "PFAS chemicals have been detected in one of the monitoring wells at the Transfer Station," the warrant's explanation says.
Savings for the school and capital needs
Voters added $500,000 to the Freetown Elementary School Maintenance Stabilization Fund unanimously, and the warrant puts future roof repairs at the school at about $2 million. They added $1 million to the Capital Stabilization Fund by a majority the moderator declared, the only article the record does not list as unanimous besides the two hand counts, and spending from either fund would take another town meeting vote, the warrant says.
Trucks and the rest
Every other article passed unanimously: $100,000 for a Fire Department command vehicle, $325,000 for a Highway Department truck, $5,000 for the tree warden, $33,000 for the Water and Sewer Commission, $25,000 more for the economic development grant, $250,000 toward future retiree benefits, permission for the Board of Health to spend $39,356.34 in opioid settlement money plus interest, the Craftsman/Tradesman Bay zoning use, two new positions in the pay plan, and $2,442 and $12,630.78 in prior-year bills, which needed nine-tenths votes.
Our preview of the Freetown warrant has every article in detail.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every result and count comes from the town clerk's unofficial record of the meeting, emailed to us Nov. 10; the clerk's certified record may follow. What the amended Article 11 allows comes from the handout presented at the meeting, which the clerk also sent; what the printed version allowed comes from the Planning Board's Oct. 20 text. Articles, amounts, thresholds and explanations come from the warrant the selectmen signed Oct. 19. The $1.5 million total and the two-thirds math (87 of 123 votes, about 71%) are ours. Nov. 9, 2026, is a Monday.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (4)
- Freetown Town Clerk Cheryl Estrella, "UNOFFICIAL Record of STM 11.09.2026" (2 pages), emailed to South Coast 360 Nov. 10, 2026Attendance, times, the result and count of every article, the failed reconsideration. Read Nov. 10, 2026.
- Town of Freetown, Article 11 handout presented at the Special Town Meeting Nov. 9, 2026, "updated for motion only Tier 1 allowed," emailed by the town clerk Nov. 10, 2026The adopted tiers, overlay parcels and applicability language. Read Nov. 10, 2026.
- Town of Freetown, Warrant for the Special Town Meeting, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, attested copy as postedTown of Freetown Board of Selectmen, signed Oct. 19, 2026; Articles 1 to 15 with amounts, fund sources, thresholds and explanations. Read Nov. 2, 2026.
- Town of Freetown, Article 11: Amend Zoning Bylaw to Create Overlay District and Regulations (revised Oct. 20, 2026)Freetown Planning Board. The printed version, which allowed all three tiers in the overlay. Read Nov. 2, 2026.