anchorage just zoned AI out

SCRIPT (for ElevenLabs)

Anchorage just told the AI industry where it can and cannot build.

The Assembly passed new rules in a 10-to-2 vote that define data centers in our zoning code for the first time. These massive facilities eat up energy and generate serious noise, and until now there was nothing on the books about them.

Under the new ordinance, data centers can only go in commercial and industrial zones. They need landscaping buffers and enclosed power equipment to cut down on noise and that warehouse look.

Every project now requires a public review and input from local utilities on whether they can even handle the extra power demand. Assembly members Anna Brawley and Daniel Volland pushed the measure, saying Anchorage is getting ahead of the problem before it becomes one.

Other cities across the country are scrambling to catch up after data centers already moved in. We wrote the rules first.