Why Calumet County hasn’t passed a data center moratorium

Calumet County, Wisconsin, has opted against implementing a data center moratorium, a measure that several other counties and cities have recently adopted. Calumet County Administrator Todd Romenesko stated that such a moratorium is unnecessary because the county's current zoning ordinance already disallows data centers as a permissible use.

Legal advice from Rebecca Roeker, an attorney at Attolles Law, affirmed that an existing prohibition makes a moratorium redundant. Roeker also noted that future modifications to the ordinance might be considered by elected officials to address any potential legal loopholes. These zoning regulations apply to townships within the county, such as Woodville, but may not extend to villages or cities like Chilton, which can maintain their own separate ordinances.

Romenesko confirmed that there are no active data center proposals within the county, despite discussions stemming from Invenergy's proposed natural gas and wind energy projects in the area. He clarified that these energy projects are not linked to any data center developments. While Calumet County currently hosts several small data centers, its abundance of open land makes it a potential target for future major data center developments, prompting the proactive regulatory stance.