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Mason council adopts moratorium ordinance on hyperscale data centers after months of public concern
Summary
After more than an hour of public comment urging deeper study and tighter limits, the Mason City Council approved Ordinance 267 — a moratorium on approval of data centers — by a 5–2 vote, with council clarifying that the ordinance will take immediate effect after posting and clerk certification because it received five votes.
The Mason City Council voted 5–2 on Jan. 19 to adopt Ordinance 267, a moratorium on the approval of data centers as a land use, following an extended public-comment period in which residents pressed for stronger protections, more study, and greater transparency.
Residents from Mason and surrounding townships filled public comment to voice concerns about water use, noise, building height, property-values and the transparency of city communications with developers. Susan Elliott asked the council to “give us directly the existing ordinance, MCL, municipal code that covers the concerns over water, power, noise,” and Megan Short urged the council to use the moratorium “to hit the pause for the express purpose of having the governing body do additional research.” Several commenters cited a FOIA invoice…
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