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Milwaukee City Plan Commission approves data center moratorium
Data centers are a hot topic, not just here in Wisconsin, but across the country. In Milwaukee, the Common Council is proposing a one-year pause on data centers. The City Plan Commission approved moving forward with that pause.
MILWAUKEE - A city commission moved forward with a proposal to pause the construction and enlargement of data centers in the city of Milwaukee for a year, or until the city’s code is changed, after hearing lengthy public comment on the legislation Monday.
Unanimously passed the proposed
The Details:
The city plan commission – which is made up of citizens to advise the common council on a number of issues related to land, development and zoning – unanimously passed the proposed ordinance, which now heads to the zoning, neighborhoods & development committee.
The passage came after more than a dozen people spoke in support, and some in opposition to the legislation, which comes on the heels of a developer dropping plans to build a data center in a portion of a former Midtown shopping center this summer, as communities across the country are debating welcoming or how to regulate the computing facilities.
"Technology is moving at such a fast speed, the government can’t just keep up. We’re being asked to – and we need to – rise to the occasion," said Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, who is the sponsor of the proposal.
As is currently written, the ordinance – if passed by the common council – would create a temporary pause in the creation or enlargement of data centers for one year, or until the city’s zoning code is amended to define and regulate them.
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"We’ve been asked to ban this forever. That’s not something that’s within the governmental toolbox that we have, but what we do have is this one-year moratorium," Dimitrijevic said. "This can give us the additional time we need, because along the way – the last couple months and versions (of the zoning code) – we found that that protection just wasn’t there."
While data centers aren’t new, some of the technology that people come to rely on – namely AI products such as chatbots – require large amounts of computing power to train and operate. The energy demand for those centers has raised concerns about rising consumer energy costs, water usage, air and noise pollution. Earlier this month, a former OpenAI researcher accused the company of recklessly racing toward superintelligence.
What they're saying:
"We’re not against development and big tech. But when it comes to data centers, without knowing the effects is, nothing wrong with putting pause," said Stacy Smiter during the public comment portion of the meeting, "And see what the long-term effects are going to be."
"And when you strangle the ability to build stuff, the price goes up and the first people out are little tech, like us," said Joel Roberts, a UW-Milwaukee grad student and owner of traffic analytics startup Shepherd Traffic, speaking in opposition to the plan. Roberts said the resources data centers provide, through AI, allow him and other small businesses to survive.
"When the price goes up," Johnson said, "the little guy gets kicked out first."
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Large data centers have become a flashpoint in communities across the state and country. Data center proposals have popped up across Wisconsin, with some already built, being expanded, proposed and under construction.
"We have every single right to be concerned, and not just to demand a temporary pause on data centers," said Jamila Mitchell, "but rules and parameters that protect our communities."
Data center in Mount Pleasant
Dig deeper:
This summer, Microsoft finished its first data center in Mount Pleasant in Racine County; a second under construction nearby is expected to come online in 2028 with two additional campuses planned for the future.
Vantage Data Centers is building a roughly $15 billion, 670-acre campus – Project Lighthouse – that will have four data centers covering approximately 2.5 million square feet in Port Washington that promises 1,000 permanent jobs, operated by Oracle and OpenAI. But the project continues to draw concerns from neighbors about noise, dust, power and water usage – despite community outreach.
Mount Pleasant data center: Microsoft waives $5M development incentive
In Mount Pleasant, Microsoft has decided to redirect its annual $5 million annual development incentive, which will go toward property tax relief.
"This is going to be a bit of a shock. I work in a data center, and I am supportive of this proposed legislation," said Ryan Brooks, the Chief Technology Officer and General Manager of Data Holdings, a Milwaukee data center owned by the Forest County Potawatomi near 31st and Highland.
Brooks told the plan commission that the 46,000-square foot facility uses no water, onsite solar to support operations, and operates on a much smaller environmental footprint than other large-scale projects, as sustainability and resource management is an important metric for tribes.
"We’re supportive of the proposed ordinance and appreciate folks are getting out ahead of this. We think things should be kept local."
The Source: The information in this post was provided by the Milwaukee City Plan Commission and prior FOX6 News coverage.