Salem residents have a new chance to weigh in on the future of data centers in Oregon after Gov. Tina Kotek's advisory committee released a preliminary report showing overwhelming public opposition to the industry.

The seven-member Data Center Advisory Committee posted a 20-page report on Thursday, Sept. 10, after nine months of fact-finding, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported. The committee has received more than 700 written comments and nine hours of verbal testimony since it began meeting in February. About 90% of commenters opposed data centers, with utility affordability the top concern.

Public comment is open through Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. Residents can submit feedback through the committee's online comment form.

The report stops short of policy recommendations. Kotek originally tasked the committee with delivering a cost-benefit analysis by mid-September but changed course, directing the group to share its findings publicly first.

Final recommendations to the governor are due before the end of 2026.

The committee did reach consensus on two points: Oregon needs stronger oversight of data centers and a centralized database tracking their water use, energy consumption and tax breaks.

The committee wrote in its preliminary report that corporate secrecy and widespread non-disclosure agreements have created a "considerable lack of information" about data center operations statewide.

That secrecy issue hit Salem's council chambers on Monday, Sept. 14. Council voted 8-1 to direct staff to draft policies addressing non-disclosure agreements with data center companies, Salem Reporter reported.

Salem's city manager said she would not sign data center NDAs.

The findings land close to home. The city council voted Aug. 3 to impose a temporary moratorium on AI data centers after California-based Verrus CEO Nelson Abramson filed a land use application in late July for a 600,000-square-foot facility at the Mill Creek Corporate Center in southeast Salem.

The moratorium does not apply to the Verrus application, which was filed before it took effect. Kotek separately terminated the state's contract for the sale of roughly 32 acres at that site, according to the governor's office.

Salem's own nine-member Data Center Task Force held its first public meeting Wednesday, Sept. 2, and is running a separate process.

The task force is hosting two remaining town halls: Tuesday, Oct. 6, at Center 50+ (2615 Portland Road NE) and Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Scottish Rite Center (4090 Commercial St. SE).

A city community survey is open through Oct. 9 at the city's website.

The task force's recommendations are scheduled for the Monday, Dec. 7, Salem City Council agenda.

The state and city timelines overlap but are distinct. The state committee's Oct. 24 deadline covers the governor's statewide regulatory framework.

Salem's Oct. 9 survey and town halls feed the city's own policy.

Statewide, the data center industry is growing fast. An ECOnorthwest analysis found Oregon hosts between 123 and 144 data centers, up from eight facilities 25 years ago.

About 9,000 acres are proposed for new development, and eight of the 31 data centers currently being sited are hyperscale facilities for AI processing.

The committee also flagged concerns about tax breaks. Morrow County's assessor told the panel that the $7.2 billion estimated value of tax-exempt data center property in the county in 2025 was $3 billion more than the combined value of all taxable property in Morrow County.

"Oregon cannot be a cheap date for data centers," Kotek said at a Tuesday, Sept. 8, rally at the Oregon State Capitol, according to Willamette Week, when she announced a roughly one-year pause on state land approvals for data center development.