The city of Flint became the latest Michigan community to approve a moratorium on new data center projects within its city limits after the City Council approved a resolution in a 7-1 vote during a meeting on June 8.
Council President Candice Mushatt, who represents Flint’s seventh ward, championed the moratorium as a way to ensure that the needs of residents and the community are at the forefront of any future developments. She said during the June 8 meeting that the need for a moratorium is evident based on a report in Crain’s Detroit that a company was already “eyeing the former Buick City site in Flint” to potentially build a data center.
“This was not done to be controversial, it was done actually to have a conversation,” Mushatt said. “We found out in an article that someone was eyeing property, that things were moving along, so if the goal was to have a conversation and include the community, then that would’ve been done up front.”
The resolution is designed to give various city departments, including planning, zoning, and legal, time to study any potential impact on the community before granting approval. It would also provide time for greater clarity on impacts on energy consumption, noise, public health, safety, and other concerns before allowing projects to move forward.
Data centers themselves aren’t new, with the first ones dating back to the 1940s. Flint even has one, located on Exchange Drive, that has been around since the 1980s. They are secure facilities that house things like servers, networking equipment, data storage systems, and other infrastructure and are necessary for everything from cloud computing services to websites to business applications.
However, as artificial intelligence technology has rapidly advanced, requests for more complex data centers needed by industry is increasing at a rate that often leaves communities little time to study potential long-term implications. A.I. requires massive amounts of computing power and storage.
Controversies and a lack of clarity over the environmental impact, water usage, energy costs to consumers, unclear economic value, secretive agreements or non-disclosure pacts between corporations and local government officials, and other issues have caused massive friction in nearby Michigan communities and around the country. There is also growing backlash to A.I. itself, as the technology has grown faster than safety precautions can be put in place to protect people from things like spreading sexually abusive material, scams and impersonation, and other pitfalls.
Several residents have attended council meetings this month to express support for the moratorium. JeCorey Hawkins, a sixth ward resident, expressed his belief that a moratorium is an easy way to alleviate and address concerns before any projects are considered.
“Enough people here have expressed the potential dangers of it from the climate issues and air quality to the water quality to the noise pollution,” Hawkins told Council. “I get that it can bring in some money, but what’s the point of bringing in millions of dollars if we have no residents to live here? Listen to the residents, there’s not a person in here who has advocated for the data center. A moratorium is very minimal as protection for the city while we figure out more information.”
Sharon Brooks, a first ward resident, also advocated for a moratorium as a practical approach that doesn’t necessarily reject data center developments, but does give the city time to consider them thoughtfully and with resident input.
“I’m not asking you to reject development in our city, I’m asking you to give Flint the time needed to fully understand what this project could mean for our community before decisions are made,” Brooks said. “Flint residents know better than most the importance of asking questions, reviewing the facts, and making sure proper safeguards are in place. We have lived through the consequences of major decisions that move forward without enough transparency and community input. A temporary moratorium is a reasonable and responsible step.”
Approximately 50 municipalities in Michigan have approved some type of moratorium on data centers, including neighboring Grand Blanc and Fenton townships. There are also bipartisan bills in the Michigan legislature currently being discussed that could create a statewide moratorium on data center developments if enacted.
The lone dissenting vote on City Council was by Judy Priestley, who represents the fourth ward. Priestley said she wasn’t opposed to a moratorium, but felt 12 months is too long – other communities in Michigan, for example, have passed 3- and 6-month versions.
“I can understand the residents’ concerns over data centers, I just feel a moratorium is unwarranted at this point since there’s just been vague interest in putting something on Buick City,” Priestley said. “I’m afraid that putting a moratorium in will eliminate any discussion for that site.”
Dennis Pfeiffer, who represents the eighth ward, was absent from the meeting.
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