Lansing City Council passes 6-month data center pause

The Lansing City Council has enacted a six-month moratorium on new data center construction and zoning applications, approved with a 7-1 vote. Council members stated the temporary pause is crucial for the city to develop comprehensive regulations and amend existing zoning laws, as the current code lacks specific definitions for data centers. First Ward Councilmember Ryan Kost emphasized the need for "more concrete regulations" due to the high intensity use, energy/water consumption, noise, and environmental impacts associated with data centers.

At-Large Councilmember Jeremy Garza, the sole dissenting vote, argued the moratorium sends a "wrong message" to developers, noting that many listed concerns are common to other businesses already in the city. The ordinance cites resource consumption and environmental impacts as key concerns, including potential issues with noise and emissions from backup power systems. Second Ward Councilmember Deyanira Nevarez Martinez highlighted that regulating data centers will require amendments across various parts of the city code, necessitating the time provided by the moratorium.

The council's action comes after a controversial 24-megawatt, $120 million data center proposal by UK-based Deep Green was withdrawn on April 6. The project, which involved re-zoned parking lots and plans to use waste heat for a city-wide hot water system, faced significant public opposition and was unlikely to secure the necessary votes for approval. Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL) CEO Dick Peffley had indicated that without the Deep Green data center's heat, BWL would incur an additional $5 million cost for a new heating station.