This week, two Michigan municipalities took two different paths in their approaches to data center regulation — a divergence that underscores the tough choices communities need to make in a state that experts say has caught the eye of data center developers.
Meridian Township, east of Lansing, adopted a temporary ban Tuesday on data center development. Just a day earlier, Lowell Township, outside Grand Rapids, rejected one.
Michigan continues to be an attractive location for data centers due to its cool climate and freshwater resources. As tech companies eye the state, municipalities are weighing the centers’ high water and energy consumption against the jobs and investment they could create.
After initial approval last week, the Meridian Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously in favor of a 6-month moratorium on building or approving data centers. The community now joins a growing number of Michigan municipalities that have passed or proposed moratoriums on data center development.
Meridian Township Supervisor Scott Hendrickson said the township has not received any data center proposals, but would use the next 6 months to plan in case it does.
“Do I think that Meridian Township is the best place for a data center?” Hendrickson said. “No. But, in the off chance that someone does, we want to make sure that we’ve got a regulatory framework in place to handle that and keep our residents' interests safe.”
Meridian Township sometimes offers a special use permit to approved projects that do not fit within existing zoning categories. Hendrickson said data centers should be subject to at least the same level of scrutiny.
“The general sentiment around our community up until now has been opposition to these facilities, and I think there's a lot of good reasons for that,” Hendrickson said. “I think we want to take a measured and deliberate approach to putting some of these guardrails in place, and I think that [residents] will very much appreciate that.”
The Lowell Township Board of Trustees, which voted 2-5 against the moratorium, later formed a committee to draft a future data center ordinance.
Lowell Township Trustee Andy Vander Ziel, who cast one of the No votes, said the township should be deliberate in considering any future steps — including whether to pass a moratorium.
“I am not a subject matter expert,” Vander Ziel said. “We need to bring those people in around us, ‘phone a friend,’ so to speak. We need to be able to be open to have those conversations. I couldn't agree more with setting a committee up to talk through this.”
Microsoft is considering building a $1 billion hyperscale data center campus at the Covenant Business Park in Lowell Township. A Microsoft spokesperson told Michigan Public the company is committed to responsible development.
“We are focused on making sure our presence adds value and respects local priorities, and we look forward to continued collaboration with township officials and community members as we listen and refine our application to reflect those priorities,” the company said.
The vote against the moratorium came despite support for it from many local residents, many of whom spoke at Monday’s meeting. Jessica Mazarka told board members she was willing to help develop a committee of experts to put guardrails in place for a potential Microsoft data center.
“Look out into this audience,” Mazarka said. “You have an audience full of people who are willing to help you in this fight. … Wouldn’t you like to be known as the township that fought back against the data center and won?”
When the proposal failed, some meeting attendees booed and called for the recall of board members who voted against the moratorium.