Winnebago County will pursue 12-month data center moratorium

Winnebago County, Wisconsin, is actively pursuing a 12-month moratorium on data center development, making it the latest community in Northeast Wisconsin to consider such a measure. County Executive Gordon Hintz introduced the idea, emphasizing the county's desire to be deliberate in establishing regulations for data centers, even though there are no current development proposals within the county.

However, the proposal faces internal dissent from some county supervisors, such as District 24 Supervisor Andy Buck, who expressed opposition to the moratorium. A significant hurdle also emerged from the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, which stated that counties, unlike municipalities, cannot legally establish a "development moratorium" under Chapter 66 of state law, which pertains to rezoning or approving land subdivisions. Senior legislative analyst Richard Loeza clarified that while counties can implement other types of moratoriums, development moratoriums are specifically excluded.

Despite these challenges, Hintz plans to move forward, seeking discussion by the county's Planning and Zoning Committee in July. If approved there, the measure would then advance to the County Board for a final vote. The proposed moratorium would initially affect four towns within Winnebago County: Nekimi, Neenah, Omro, and Algoma, with Hintz aiming to engage other municipalities for a uniform measure. Manitowoc County previously passed a data center moratorium in April using specific language.