The Portland City Council could soon ask city staff to draft new regulations on data centers as Greater Portland sees increasing development interest.

The Housing & Economic Development Committee is slated to discuss the issue Tuesday and could forward a resolution to the council that would begin a planning board review.

According to a committee memo, existing ordinances in Portland “do not adequately address” the infrastructure demands and environmental and neighborhood impacts of data centers.

Councilor Pious Ali, who chairs the committee, asked that the committee review and possibly vote on the draft resolution, which states that “there is increasing interest within or surrounding the city of Portland in the siting and development of large-scale data center facilities.”

The memo says both city councilors and Portland residents have raised concerns about data centers typically using large amounts of land, electricity and water and generating air, water and noise pollution.

Ali said Tuesday that he supports an outright ban on such facilities in Portland because of such concerns.

“Before we commit our city to that kind of development, we need to consider the impact on residents, our environment and our ability to meet Portland’s needs,” he said. “My responsibility is to put our community and people first.”

Data centers are facilities that house computers and other digital infrastructure to store data and run online applications and services. While the centers have existed for decades, new developments in artificial intelligence technology have increased demand for the sites, as well as public concern about their development.

If ultimately approved, Maine’s largest city would join several other municipalities that have either regulated or passed moratoriums regarding data centers this year after Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill to temporarily restrict permitting new data centers statewide.

Bangor, Brunswick, Gorham, Gray, Saco, Sanford, Scarborough and Westbrook, among other communities, have approved temporary bans since May, intended to give them time to address concerns and potentially adjust their zoning ordinances.

In Portland, city planning staff recently began considering changes to zoning ordinances because of the lack of regulations on the books, the committee memo says.

Other neighboring municipalities, including Falmouth, South Portland and Yarmouth, are not seeing regulations as immediately necessary and believe that the Legislature’s support for a statewide ban means the issue will be brought back.