South Lyon council moves toward moratorium as data‑center concerns surface

South Lyon’s interim city manager said the city will bring a proposed moratorium on data‑center projects to the next council meeting after recent public sessions raised multiple operational and safety questions.

“I think that’s why we need the moratorium and to thoroughly investigate this thing,” the mayor said while discussing a Lyon Township presentation staff attended; officials said the developer at that meeting described using large lithium‑ion battery packs for backup power and estimated water needs that prompted concern. Staff recounted figures shown at the Lyon Township presentation: the developer said it could use up to 53,000,000 gallons per year from the area but proposed about 9,000,000 gallons per year for the facility.

Council members repeatedly raised the local-water question. Councilmember Kurzweil said the city’s aquifer is the likely local source if a data center were sited in South Lyon and asked, “Where are you gonna get the water from?… There is only 1 option, and that is our aquifer.” Officials said that lack of alternative water infrastructure in South Lyon is a central reason to pause and study the issue.

Fire‑ and public‑safety topics also figured prominently. Staff summarized comments at the information session that the Lyon Township deputy fire chief had described training for lithium‑ion battery incidents; council members noted such fires can be particularly difficult to extinguish and said the scale of commercial battery packs shown in the presentation exceeded household examples.

Other concerns included noise and security. Council members said developers made differing claims on sound levels presented in their slides and suggested the city could require third‑party verification of noise and other environmental impacts rather than relying on developer testing.

Legal and fiscal protections were also debated. One council member questioned whether bonds under the Metro Act adequately cover damage to private property and said the city should examine whether additional performance or restoration bonds are appropriate when providers trench or work outside the public right‑of‑way.

City staff said they will return with draft moratorium language and further ordinance review at the next council meeting so the council can consider whether to pause applications or approvals while staff and the council study water, emergency response, batteries, noise, bonds and other potential impacts.

Next steps: staff will prepare moratorium language and a summary of legal constraints (including the Metro Act limits on certain charges and bonds) for council review at the next meeting.