STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — On Tuesday night, Sterling Heights City Council members unanimously voted yes on a proposed moratorium on data center developments.
By voting yes, local leaders said they aren’t necessarily saying no to technology, but it means not so fast.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below:
The moratorium means for one year, city leadership will have time to set the rules for data centers for if and when a tech company shows interest in moving to Sterling Heights.
“I believe that that’s a good position to be in, to take a look at it (and) to step back to see. Things are going to change over time. I mean, I’ve lived long enough to see a lot of changes. Data centers are going to evolve,” resident Cathy Novak said.
Before the vote, City Planner and City Development Manager Jake Parcell explained to council members why Sterling Heights is not a good candidate for the hyper-scale data centers proposed in other communities.
To start, Parcell said the city doesn’t have 200-plus acres to develop on.
“But we’ve seen them creep closer and closer to us (in) Southfield, Washington Township and if I see a public hearing with a hundred residents there, then I know it’s a voice of concern. So we want to do something to address it," he told 7 News Detroit.
Related video: Northville City Council unanimously approves 12-month data center moratorium
Parcell said over the next year, the zoning will undergo a complete and comprehensive rewrite from top to bottom.
“All of our nuisances (and) all of our uses — make sure they’re in their appropriate locations. And then for this use in particular, making sure we’re following the best sustainable principles that we’re able to: size, setback, screening, helping with noise control. If it includes more trees, and then things like closed loop water systems requiring transformers," he said.
Related video: A look at local data center proposals and why the area is prime for AI developments
"We haven't been approached yet, but that doesn't mean that next week, somebody might not be here saying this is what they wanna do," Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko told 7 News Detroit.
She said it's also possible for tech companies to target smaller sites.
“Even if we don't have the acreage now, it doesn't mean that in the future, it might not become available because of the industry that we have here and if something closes, then we do have a big parcel that we're going to have to fill with something," Ziarko explained.
