This Wisconsin county wants to pause data center development for a year

Winnebago County is the latest community in Northeast Wisconsin to discuss implementing a moratorium on data centers. County Executive Gordon Hintz told FOX 11 Tuesday that right now, there isn't a proposal for a data center anywhere in Winnebago County, but even so, he wants to put a 12-month pause on any development. However, not all of the county supervisors agreed with him. Hintz brought forward the idea of a moratorium during his executive report at the latest county board meeting. His presentation specifically referred to this proposal as a development moratorium, per Chapter 66 of state law. However, that chapter applies solely to municipalities, not counties. Last week, the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau told FOX 11 counties can't legally establish a development moratorium. Manitowoc County passed a data center moratorium in April, using specific language. Even if a moratorium was passed in Winnebago County, it wouldn't impact everyone. Each county handles zoning differently, which can change where a moratorium takes effect. Initially, in Winnebago County, just four towns would be subject to the moratorium: Nekimi, Neenah, Omro and Algoma. Hintz said he plans to ask other municipalities in Winnebago County if they'd be interested in passing a uniform measure. Read more: https://fox11online.com/news/local/winnebago-county-to-pursue-12-month-data-center-moratorium #datacenter #datacenters #aidatacenter #artificialintelligence #wisconsin _______________ Stay up to date with our social media: WLUK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wlukfox11/ WLUK on X: https://x.com/fox11news Subscribe to WLUK on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC72xzKVi3b_2oed6zQ8KKQg/?sub_confirmation=1 Daily News Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjuhS_na3SEwTKX0ACWvXwNAc0GrTqhFo For more information, visit https://fox11online.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: fox11news@wluk.com Call the Newsroom: 920.494.8711 WLUK is a WI based station and a FOX Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. #WLUK #FOX11 #WLUKFox11 #FOX11News #GreenBay