The city of Mason is moving forward with regulations that would apply to any future data center developments in the community.
But the ordinance passed by Council last week drew outcry from residents both at meetings and online who don’t want anything to do with data centers.
Mayor Russell Whipple is blaming that pushback on people coming from outside the city to spread what he calls misinformation about the measure and data centers in general.
"I can only speculate as to why they don't seem to understand that an ordinance that simply sets regulations is not the same as the approval of a development project," he said.
Whipple says he does not know of any firm plans to bring a data center into the city, but he does say his staff have seen requests from companies asking about the available water and sewer infrastructure to support one.
He says the residents he has talked to often have misconceptions about what data centers are and what they can do for a community.
Talking to WKAR in November when the proposed regulations were announced, Whipple said the goal was to give the city leverage to put standards in place to address concerns people may have about the facilities.
WKAR News has spoken with Mason residents who are generally opposed to data centers. The city also received written comments from more than 100 people about the ordinance as it was developed, about half of whom are residents in the city of Mason.
Whipple's biggest concern is growing the city without increasing taxes for residents, and that data centers and other large-scale developments offer an opportunity for investment.
"Data centers aren't inherently dangerous. They do have impacts on natural resources. They have impacts on electricity. They have impacts on the fact that they will most likely go on land that is not developed, but cities have to grow, and the city of Mason is no different," he said.
Mason community members are organizing to get a referendum on the data center ordinance on the ballot later this year.
Interview Highlights
On what the ordinance regulates
The concerns that I think many people have, I think we've addressed in our ordinance. Our ordinance addresses noise. It addresses aesthetics. It addresses setbacks. It addresses extra information that would be provided when a plan is submitted, that is not required generally by other projects. It would require agreements with the city regarding water use and both the quantity and the cost, and it would require development agreements and be recorded with the property. There are many, many other standards and requirements in our ordinance that no other development in the city of Mason would have to do.
On potential data center developments
I know that our city management or our city staff has been contacted by people over the last year about the potential for using our water and sewer services to build a data center or a large development, but everything's just in that background stage of discussion with the city about how available are the services, and what's the process for getting them and all that kind of back, front-end information.
On why bringing in a data center could help the city
Cities have to grow, and the city of Mason is no different. We, over time, need to grow to maintain the level of services that the people of Mason want. The cost of things is not going down. It's only going up. And the city of Mason actually has not seen any substantial growth in many, many years to our tax base. Our tax base has been pretty solid, and we've been able to maintain services, and we have a very, very solid financial footing, and I think we're in pretty decent shape, but we're getting closer and closer to the point where we may need to deal with things like tax increases and whatnot, unless we can find additional tax revenue through growth.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: The city of Mason is moving forward with regulations that would apply to any future data center developments in the community.
But the ordinance passed by Council last week drew outcry from residents both at meetings and online who don’t want anything to do with data centers.
Mayor Russell Whipple joins us now to talk about the ordinance and public feedback. Thank you for being here.
Russell Whipple: My pleasure.
Saliby: It seems like you wanted to put these regulations in place to protect the community, but these Mason residents are opposed to data centers entirely and think this would invite developers in.
Where do you think there was a disconnect between that messaging?
Whipple: First of all, I just want to correct something. It's not Mason residents. It's very predominantly non-residents of the city of Mason who have been the most vocal and the most hostile in fighting this ordinance. I can only speculate as to why they don't seem to understand that an ordinance that simply sets regulations is not the same as the approval of a development project.
But I suspect part of it is because the city council has not come out and basically taken the knee to their demands that we do everything we can to stop data centers coming into the area. The city of Mason doesn't really take a position on uses of land.
We need economic development in the city, and we're open to all suggestions. And data centers is one of those potential uses. And we just want to be in a position that if one comes in, that the unique characteristics of such a development are dealt with in our code and in our law, and that we can regulate it in a way that makes it the best development-type project for the people of the city of Mason.
Saliby: I know there's no data centers in process that are being discussed. Do you know of any developers that are interested in building in the Mason area, even if there hasn't been a formal proposal?
Whipple: I don't know any. I know that our city management or our city staff has been contacted by people over the last year about the potential for using our water and sewer services to build a data center or a large development, but everything's just in that background stage of discussion with the city about how available are the services, and what's the process for getting them and all that kind of back, front-end information.
Saliby: You brought up earlier residents maybe not being behind a lot of this vitriol, but there have been surveys that the city has done where people have shared their addresses. So, I think there are some residents that are opposed to data centers.
So, can you speak directly to people in the city, I know that there have been people at meetings that maybe are coming in from outside, but specifically for residents, why do you think this is an emotional issue?
Whipple: I've had contact with several residents, as well as the ones that have spoken at our meetings and submitted information to the city. Many of them have legitimate concerns, mostly driven by what I think is a misconception of what a data center really is.
I've actually visited a place where large-scale data centers exist and can speak at least on that one site, which is a fairly new and modern site, it's not one of the older ones that I believe that what's being spread around by predominantly people who don't live within the city of Mason is just inaccurate information about data centers. Data centers are one of the cleanest industrial uses you will find. They don't cause pollution. They don't prove produce pollution. They don't contaminate things, especially in the manner in which the state government requires them to be developed through the incentives that the state has put in place which started this whole thing.
The concerns that I think many people have, I think we've addressed in our ordinance. Our ordinance addresses noise. It addresses aesthetics. It addresses setbacks. It addresses extra information that would be provided when a plan is submitted, that is not required generally by other projects. It would require agreements with the city regarding water use, both the quantity and the cost, and it would require development agreements and be recorded with the property.
There are many, many other standards and requirements in our ordinance that no other development in the city of Mason would have to do, and they're all geared towards the unique characteristics of a very large-scale development with large buildings covering a large chunk of land. That is what data centers generally are. Many people are concerned about the water use, but we believe we would be able to manage that, because our ordinance would require that the city would basically dictate a maximum amount of water that any user would be able to use.
And we're doing a water resources study that I believe has been completed, I haven't seen the final report on it that would give us an indication over the next 20 years and potential development within the city, how much water would we need and how much would be available. And I think that all that data will be very helpful in helping us to make sure that we don't do anything negative to our water system or our wastewater system.
Saliby: Regardless of your intentions, I think some people came out of this process not happy with your leadership. So, do you feel like you have to win back some of your constituents' trust after all of this?
Whipple: Well, I know there's some very specific ones that I would because they've made that very clear at council meetings or in the things that they've submitted to the city. The thing that I wish that anyone who's listening to this could appreciate, if they have not attended our meetings, the last six or eight meetings that we've had and seen the people that came and spoke and listened to the addresses and understand where they live, and listen to what is said. The most vitriol is coming from people who don't live in the city of Mason.
There are several people in the city of Mason who have spoken out, some of them very strongly, and as I said, I have spoken to a few of them. I've corresponded with them in emails and tried to explain to them what's going on. The biggest challenge that we have is that the people from outside the city that are against data centers generally, and also the city growing generally, they don't want the city to grow.
They don't want that farmland that's right next to the city that a farmer decides to sell to be developed, because they like it that way, but they don't own that land, and so that farmer, if they have the opportunity to sell it, it's their prerogative to do so. But the people that live outside the city have spread so much misinformation about data centers that, yeah, I would expect many people within the city to be concerned and confused based on that information.
My job and what I've tried to do over the last several months is to get the truth out that data centers aren't inherently dangerous. They do have impacts on natural resources. They have impacts on electricity. They have impacts on the fact that they will most likely go on land that is not developed, but cities have to grow, and the city of Mason is no different. We, over time, need to grow to maintain the level of services that the people of Mason want.
The cost of things is not going down. It's only going up. And the city of Mason actually has not seen any substantial growth in many, many years to our tax base. Our tax base has been pretty solid, and we've been able to maintain services, and we have a very, very solid financial footing, and I think we're in pretty decent shape, but we're getting closer and closer to the point where we may need to deal with things like tax increases and whatnot, unless we can find additional tax revenue through growth, and that's something that's just a reality of living in a city.
A township is different. Townships operate different. They have a different level of service that they provide, and that's all well and good. I grew up in a township for much of my life and very familiar with it. There's not one better than the other. They're just different.
And the city of Mason is only trying to put itself in the best position to be able to manage and regulate any growth that comes into the town in a way that protects the citizens that live within the city of Mason and puts the city of Mason in the best position to continue to fund its operations and provide the services that people that live in the city of have have asked for.
Saliby: Russell Whipple is Mason's Mayor. Thank you for joining us.
Whipple: Thank you, Sophia. I very much appreciate the opportunity to let people know what we're really up to.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
