Gibraltar moving forward on data center ordinance as lawsuit pending
The City of Gibraltar, Michigan, is developing a new zoning ordinance for data centers following a one-year moratorium enacted last March. This comes as CAL Realty and Raeden Acquisitions have filed a federal lawsuit, alleging the moratorium unlawfully blocked their proposed data center project.
The City of Gibraltar, Michigan, is actively drafting a new zoning ordinance specifically for data center development, hiring planning firm McKenna to assist in the process. This initiative follows the City Council's approval last March of a one-year moratorium on data center projects, which aimed to provide the city time to assess potential impacts.
However, this moratorium has sparked legal action. CAL Realty, owner of a 42-acre industrial property at 27800 W. Jefferson Ave., and Raeden Acquisitions, which has a purchase agreement for the site and a proposed data center project, filed a lawsuit on August 17 in U.S. District Court in Detroit. They allege the moratorium was unlawfully adopted specifically to halt their pending application and exceeded the city's authority. The city, through a Facebook post, stated its commitment to adopting a comprehensive ordinance and intends to vigorously defend itself in court, citing the need to protect its legal and community interests.
City Administrator Rachel Witherspoon and Mayor Garrett Shumate did not respond to requests for comment regarding future meetings for public input. The article notes that similar data center proposals and subsequent moratoriums have emerged across Michigan, including in Taylor, Melvindale, and Allen Park, often driven by resident concerns over utility strain, noise, pollution, and potential health hazards.