The Alpena County Board of Commissioners has approved a resolution encouraging local units of government in Northeast Michigan to enact ordinances restricting the development of data centers.

Commissioners Adopt Data Center Moratorium Resolution

The resolution was adopted during the board's monthly full board meeting, held in the Howard Male Conference Room in Alpena, with Commissioners Bill Peterson, John Kozlowski, Brenda Fournier, and Todd Britton pictured in attendance at the meeting.

According to County Administrator Jesse Osmer, commissioners had been approached by community members regarding a data center moratorium. Osmer said that the county does not have much say in a moratorium, and that the City of Alpena and townships must set their own ordinances.

"Speaking with the majority of you, I found that most of you were opposed (to data centers)," he said.

Limits of County Authority

Osmer explained that the county can only encourage local units of government to take certain stances on data centers and moratoriums.

"We ourselves cannot put much into place as far as any type of ordinances or anything like that," he said.

In September, Osmer explained that townships enforce their own ordinances, planning, development, zoning and other matters. In the case of a data center, it would be up to the local unit of government to set procedures.

If a data center company was looking at county land to develop, the county and the company would have to comply with whichever municipality the land falls under.

He added that in the case of county-owned property, or a situation where county property would have to be rezoned, the county would have an advisory role only through the coordinating zoning committee.

"Local cities, villages, and townships actually have the jurisdiction over planning, zoning, site plan reviews, approvals, code enforcement related to data centers and their affiliated uses," Osmer said. "In accordance with their adopted plans, ordinances and procedures, the county does not have jurisdiction over planning development or approval for those data centers."

Because of those limits, Osmer said the county can draft a "nice letter" making recommendations to local municipalities.

"Because it's not really an ordinance or anything. It's a nice letter, basically, to the municipality; it asks, 'Please refrain from any action that would bring those facilities into our area anytime soon,'" he said.

What the Resolution Calls For

Osmer said the resolution encourages local units of government, townships and the City of Alpena to create systems that would allow for full transparency in the event that a data center approaches a municipality in the area.

"I don't know of any data centers coming to the area, but basically putting on a pause and putting that framework into place in the coming months," Osmer said.

The adopted resolution states that local units of government should adopt a moratorium on the planning, construction, permitting, or expansion of any data center. It also states that in the event a proposed data center comes to the area, a comprehensive study should be done to ensure the local ecosystem is protected from potential pollution and/or damage.

"It is in the best interest of Alpena County residents that any data center development occur within a clear and comprehensive regulatory framework that protects public resources, ensures transparency, and prevents unintended financial or environmental consequences," the resolution stated.

Definition and Background Context

The adopted resolution defines a data center as a specialized facility that houses computing systems and stores large volumes of data. The resolution also notes the rapid growth of cloud storage and artificial intelligence across the country, which places an increased demand on data center real estate.

Transparency and Disclosure Provisions

The resolution encourages transparency and public disclosure regarding data center projects, including consideration of the source of electrical power for the facility, the anticipated water usage of the facility and protective measures, how electric utilities will meet the increased energy demands, contractual protections, minimum usage requirements or exit provisions, and measures to ensure environmental compliance, equitable cost allocation, and meaningful community benefit.

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