The concerns aired at Wednesday’s meeting of the Livingston County Planning Commission are the same as what officials have heard throughout the process to rezone a thousand acres of farmland in Howell Township to accommodate a data center. People are concerned about water, power, loss of farmland, lack of transparency, and the effect the project would have on the surrounding environment.
What was news to those in attendance was that the plan for the data center, which would encompass land on both sides of Grand River Avenue, also includes re-routing the historic Indian trail that exists today as a state highway and the major east-west thoroughfare in that part of the county.
“They (the developers) don’t intend to use the southern part (of the land) for four years,” said Planning Commissioner Paul Funk of Oceola Township. “That’s because they asked us to consider moving Grand River. They’ve got the money. They want to do that. I don’t see it happening.”
The crowd, which numbered over 300, gasped.
The county planning commission turned a unanimous thumbs down to the rezoning.
If approved, the data center project will be the largest in Livingston County history. It will encompass over a thousand acres of farmland, and the $1 billion initial capital investment will immediately make it the county’s largest taxpayer; it would also open the door for similar projects down the road. While proponents point to the financial benefits of the development, opponents cite concerns about rising electricity costs, the strain on the area’s water supply, as well as light and sound pollution.
Opponents are urging the Howell Township Board to adopt a six-month moratorium on the proposal to allow for time to create ordinances to protect the community. The moratorium would halt “establishing, permitting, consideration, approval, location, construction, and/or installation of any data centers in Howell Township” for six months.
Michael Vogt, a real estate attorney representing the Randee LLC applicant team through the agent Stantec, said he is fully in support of the moratorium if the township chooses to adopt it, to allow for more time to propose regulations specific to the data center permitting.
Call to the public — which was shortened from 3 minutes to 1-1/2 minutes per person to accommodate the number of those wanting to speak — brought up points of the proposal not being consistent with the overall goals and intentions of Howell Township.
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Regarding the lack of transparency, many did not learn about the data center until September, and there have been many questions about the rushed timeline of the project. Many attendees felt the community has been left in the dark about the project.
Developer attorney Vogt used his time presenting restrictions regarding water issues, lot coverage, road issues and more.
“The developer will pay for or reimburse the township for all infrastructure costs necessary to support development of the data center facility, data processing facility, including roadway, water, sewer, wastewater, fiber, police, emergency services and electrical infrastructure,” Vogt said. “That means not one cent of one improvement to infrastructure would be borne and shouldered by the cost of the taxpayer.”
The applicant is offering that no more than 50 percent of the entire site be developed of the 1,000-acre parcel and is offering to donate 120 acres along the southern border to the township for permanent conservation.
When addressing the concerns over water, Vogt said the applicant is going to repair, replace or improve any well affected by the project to its original condition.
That didn’t ease concerns about wells, even if the assurance is in writing.
“They also put in writing that it would be the onus of the residents to prove to the property owners (that) it was their fault,” said a Howell Township resident. “The residents will now have to decide: do they want to pay the lawyer to fight the developer, probably the same expense or more, than to just pay to replace their well.”
There are plans to make further offers and restrictions directly in response to the concerns of the community.
Multiple attendees spoke out against these offered conditions, claiming that while the applicant is promising all these restrictions, there is no way to be certain due to the preexisting issues with transparency.
“There’s nothing that protects us nor enforces any of the promises made tonight,” said Breanne Green, one of the organizers of Stop the Data Center – Livingston. “Tonight, you have a choice. You can have whole decades of planning work protect the residents and maintain the integrity of our land use system.”
The Howell Township Board meeting, which was rescheduled to accommodate the expected large crowd, is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Rod Bushey Performing Arts Center, Howell High School Auditorium, 1200 W. Grand River Ave.
Opponents of the data center are hoping for the moratorium to be approved during that meeting. The agenda for the meeting is now available, and it includes the proposed data center moratorium ordinance
