A temporary data center moratorium unanimously approved by Leelanau Township last week will ensure that the review of applications or permits for construction of such a facility, if any, will now come to a halt for a period of one year.
The approval comes after the township board discussed a zoning ordinance amendment for temporary moratorium authority and temporary moratorium for data centers last month, as well as an ordinance to enact a non-zoning temporary moratorium on data centers within Leelanau Township.
At the September meeting, township supervisor Barb Conley explained how the township is not prepared for data centers and had no ordinances in place, however, the moratorium would allow them adequate time for preparation. While the moratoriums would only allow for a brief pause and not forbid data centers indefinitely, they aim to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare by establishing regulations.
Drafted by the township’s legal counsel, the two ordinances identify a number of findings regarding the issue and what the township has determined. According to the ordinance to enact a non-zoning temporary moratorium on data centers, some of the reasons for adopting the regulation included: how the township board desires to review and study the public health, safety, and welfare concerns regarding data centers and any township regulations that may impact and/or regulate such projects; as well as allowing the board adequate time to study and possibly implement revisions to the township’s ordinances and regulations, giving attention to and full consideration of citizen input and involvement, public debate, and all issues and points of view.
While no data centers have been proposed in Leelanau County yet, other municipalities in neighboring Grand Traverse County have taken steps to approve of temporary moratoriums. In August, Garfield Township in Grand Traverse County took action to approve a 12-month moratorium on data centers in the community, and just last week, Blair Township also unanimously voted to enact a data center moratorium for the same period of time.
