Kalamazoo city commission adopts moratorium to prevent data center development
Kalamazoo city commissioners unanimously approved a one-year moratorium preventing data center development. This decision was prompted after a local cannabis facility considered offering its site to data center developers. Kalamazoo joins other West Michigan communities that have adopted similar moratoriums.
The Kalamazoo City Commission unanimously voted to enact a one-year moratorium on data center development during their Monday night meeting. This prohibition specifically targets the processing of applications for new data centers, including those for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining, as well as battery energy storage systems, within the City of Kalamazoo.
The decision was spurred by recent events, including the Harbor Farmz cannabis facility considering offering its site to data center developers. Kalamazoo now joins a growing number of West Michigan communities, such as Oshtemo Township, Texas Township, Portage, and Marshall, that have adopted similar moratoriums to pause data center construction.