I have no idea what will happen Monday when the Howell Township Board meets with just one thing on the agenda: the rezoning of over a thousand acres of land to clear the way for a hyper scale data center for an unknown company (said to be Meta by one Howell Township Board member.)
The data center proposal is so controversial that the meeting is set for the Howell High School auditorium to accommodate what will surely be a standing-room-only crowd, deservedly so. This is the biggest single development ever pitched for Livingston County; it’s also one that will forever change the character of the community in a way from which there is absolutely no going back.
Make no mistake: if approved, this will be the largest project ever developed in Livingston County. The estimated $1 billion initial capital investment will immediately make it the county’s largest taxpayer. Proponents tout its possible financial benefits, while opponents cite concerns about rising electricity rates, the strain on the area’s water supply, light and sound pollution, and the fact that it doesn’t fit into the master plan.
This project is a big f-ing deal, and the township board approaching it like it’s a non-conforming barn is flabbergasting.
How different this data center proposal is being treated as compared to when a casino was being pitched for Howell Township in 1998 and 1999. If you haven’t read this story on it, I urge you to do so — there are some interesting parallels between the two projects, which have little in common except for Howell Township and the siren song of lots and lots of easy money.
Then-state Sen. Mike Rogers led the charge against the casino, which the township board rejected it by a single vote.
So where do state Rep. Jason Woolford, state Sen. Lana Theis, and U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett stand on this, the biggest project ever pitched for the community they all represent? Are they for it? Against it? If ever there was a time for some leadership from our electeds, this is it. But we’ve heard not a peep from them, and that silence has not gone unnoticed.
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Opponents have complained mightily about the township board’s lack of transparency and information about the proposal. It’s incredulous that a group of local who’s who got a tour of New Albany, Ohio, home to loads of data centers, at the same time the hoi polloi was learning about the proposal by word of mouth, and only after legally required notifications went out to residents within 300 feet of the property. People were being asked to comment with only a few days’ notice on this Godzilla of a rezoning with almost no details: no site plan, no water use numbers, no traffic studies. And just three weeks ago we learned some board members signed project non-disclosure agreements.
How is that possible? How is that right?
And yet, here we are.
The township board had one chance to redeem itself with its well-organized, well-informed, and passionate opposition, but it decided instead to squander it. That chance at redemption wasn’t turning down the proposal; rather, it was slowing down its dizzying pace by enacting a six-month moratorium.
Residents clamoring for the moratorium thought it would provide time to gather ideas and craft ordinances that would protect the interests of the community. And the Howell Township Board said, “sure, we’ll vote on a moratorium,” while crossing their fingers behind their backs. You see, the moratorium the board passed contains a clause opponents say is an exception so large that it defeats the ordinance’s intent: That clause is Section 6, which basically says the board can waive the moratorium if it wants.
One comment has stuck with me: “It took six months for (Howell) township to pass a sign ordinance, and the township is looking at approving a project of this size in half that time.” Those were the words of Cory Alchin, a leader of the data center opposition. When he said that to me during one of our conversations, a light went off in my head.
Think about it: Monday’s vote is coming less than three months after the Howell Township and Livingston County planning commissions both gave the rezoning request unanimous thumbs down. Think about this, too: More time went into Howell Township deciding how big signs on businesses can be than is being spent on this single community-altering decision that can’t ever be undone.
It feels like the promise of a duffel bag stuffed full of cash is supposed to be enough to buy the support of a community that mostly appears to not want anything to do with a data center.
Now, I don’t know about you, but if a man showed up on my front porch, refusing to identify himself but asking me to trust him as he flashed a duffel bag full of cash, I’d call the police instead of inviting him in and cleaning out a dresser drawer .
The Howell Township Board meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Howell High School Rod Bushey Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Grand River Ave.
