The decision of a developer to withdraw a rezoning request for over a thousand acres of farmland for a data center is being hailed as a major turning point by opponents. The request was scheduled to go before the Howell Township Board today.
Stop the Data Centers – Livingston County said the withdrawal — reported to have been made to Howell Township Board members by email on Sunday — was confirmed with Howell Township Supervisor Mike Coddington.
“This happened because the people in Howell Township and the surrounding communities came out en masse in support of something they believed in,” said Cory Alchin, a leader of the data center opponents. “They spent their time, money and resources on protecting their homes, protecting their neighbors, and always showing up. That was the key: people never stopped showing up. Over 3,000 people across multiple meetings is why the developer and land owners decided to withdraw.”
The withdrawal doesn’t mean that the data center proposal is dead; rather, it will likely delay consideration of this proposal until the expiration of the 6-month moratorium, a time during which it’s expected the township will study and craft its zoning rules and ordinances.
“We need to clarify when and how the developer can come back, but this marks a major turning point where control of the text amendment and control of the ordinances and zoning definitions are back in the hands of the township where they belong,” Alchin said. “The township — not a massive developer — should be writing its own zoning rules.”
The moratorium the Howell Township Board passed Nov. 20 covered future data center proposals, but not the one that currently exists, and contained a clause that gives the board the power to waive the moratorium.
The withdrawal also comes just after the second opinion piece on The Livingston Post criticizing the speed with which the proposal has been moving. . The first piece ran on Nov. 1.
Nothing has been posted on the Howell Township website as of this writing.
