Cologno Monzese City Council unanimously rejected an 80MW data center proposal on 24 September, terminating a project that would have generated €12 million ($13.4m) in municipal fees.

Officine Mak and 2C Sviluppo Immobiliare Spa had jointly submitted a request for two data center buildings plus supporting infrastructure on Via Guzzina, a plot within the former Torriani industrial site, adjacent to the Brugherio municipality.

The €12 million in projected municipal fees is now lost to the commune.

What did the council reject?

The municipal council, voting unanimously, framed the application as incompatible with the city's planning strategy. The rejection resolution, reported by Italian daily Il Giorno, cited three concrete issues:

• "Massive and ongoing water and electricity consumption"
• "High land footprint"
• "Structural production of complex technological waste"

These concerns, the document argued, conflict with strategic objectives set out in the PGT — Italy's Piano di Governo del Territorio, the municipal territory plan governing zoning, building permissions and long-term development priorities.

"The submitted proposal does not fully comply with the requirements of the PGT," the resolution stated.

"The strategic objectives require us to lead Cologno Monzese toward the model of an eco-sustainable, circular and intelligent city, focused on the regeneration of existing buildings, energy efficiency, protection of water resources, and the structural expansion of biodiversity and urban forests."

The unanimous vote eliminates any immediate approval path at the local level. Developers typically retain the option to revise and resubmit, but the PGT conflicts documented here would have to be addressed in any revision.

How does Cologno Monzese fit Lombardy's data center pipeline?

The municipality sits inside the Milan metropolitan area, the focal point of Italy's data center expansion. Lombardy is expected to add 2GW of capacity over the next five years, a build-out that the regional council links directly to rising AI demand.

Local and political resistance to that expansion has intensified through 2024 and 2025:

• A 240MW facility planned for Magenta faced a public backlash this summer.
• A 120MW data center proposed for Travagliato was withdrawn last month.

What does the new regional framework require?

In June, Lombardy's regional council approved Italy's first dedicated regional framework for digital infrastructure. The law promotes the sustainability of new digital infrastructure developments and steers construction toward brownfield sites, among other measures.

Operators with active applications now face two parallel review processes: municipal PGT decisions and regional framework conditions. The former Torriani industrial site qualifies as brownfield under the framework's intent, but the council's water, electricity and waste findings cut across both layers.

What changes for developers in Lombardy?

The 24 September vote adds a third data point to the year's pattern across the region:

• Formal municipal rejection on environmental grounds (Cologno Monzese, 80MW)
• Sustained public opposition during permitting (Magenta, 240MW)
• Voluntary withdrawal before a formal decision (Travagliato, 120MW)

Alongside the June regional framework, the three cases point to a multi-stage review process combining municipal PGT decisions with regional sustainability conditions. Where applications and PGT language conflict, municipal authorities have now demonstrated willingness to close the file entirely.