The city of Mason is drafting an ordinance that would give it greater control over potential data center construction and other tech projects in the community.
Mason is not currently the site of any data center proposals, so this ordinance is a preemptive measure being taken in response to what’s been going on in other Michigan communities, said Russel Whipple, mayor of Mason.
”We thought we should have an ordinance because we've been watching other cities in the mid-Michigan area, well townships really, deal with the challenges of a business coming in and saying, ‘Hey, I want to buy this 1,000 acres and put a data center down,’” Whipple said. “They've been caught flat-footed because their ordinance really doesn't give them a ton of leverage to put standards in place to address the issues that people have, and we want to get ahead of that if somebody comes knocking on our door.”
Mason's ordinance sets standards for noise, building height limitations, how much water the data center can use and aims to preserve the rural look of development sites. Any data center in or near Mason would have to meet those requirements, otherwise it wouldn't get built, he said.
Standards set in the ordinance will reflect concerns that residents may have. Two open houses at Mason’s City Hall will be held on November 22 from 9-10 am and on December 1 from 5-6 pm, where residents can ask questions.
Residents can also attend city council meetings on December 9 and December 15 at 6:30 pm to provide input on what they want to see in the ordinance, he said.
Michigan residents have taken issue with data centers for a number of reasons, one of them being the noise they produce. The sounds of fans blowing to cool the data centers, and the testing of large generators are common sources of noise, he said.
Water usage concerns people as well, Whipple said.
“A data center could potentially use tons and tons of water like hundreds of thousands to a million gallons a day,” he said.
They city's ordinance would prevent that from happening, Whipple said.
The size of the blocky, tall buildings and them taking up green space is also unappealing to many residents, Whipple said.
“If you build a data center next to a factory and a highway the neighbors probably aren't going to care. But if you build it next to a residential development then it's a different dynamic,” he said.
Mason is similar to other Michigan communities and townships dotted with rural land. They're popular development sites for businesses looking to build a data center for a number of reasons, he said.
Michigan has a fairly stable electrical grid, isn’t prone to natural disasters in the same way states on the coast or in Tornado Alley are, and has abundant water resources. The state also passed a law last year that allows data centers to skip paying sales taxes on certain aspects of their operations, Whipple said.
“That is what I think the reasons are that you're seeing a lot of interest now,” he said. “And I think you’ll notice that where you’re seeing the actual interest is generally in townships right now because that’s where all the land is.”