Commission discusses data‑center moratorium, seeks zoning and licensing language to address water, power, noise and decommissioning

The Garden City Planning Commission spent an extended portion of its meeting reviewing a council‑imposed six‑month moratorium on data‑center applications and discussing draft zoning and licensing tools to manage the uses.

Consultant staff explained why the moratorium was imposed and described different data‑center models: hyperscale complexes serving cloud and AI workloads, mid‑sized collocation/edge centers used by banking or healthcare, and smaller in‑building server facilities for single businesses. The consultant stressed that key regulatory concerns differ by type but commonly include cooling method (water‑cooled vs. air‑cooled), electricity demand measured in megawatts, proximity to fiber and transmission lines, noise and vibration from air handling equipment, and potential impacts on municipal utilities and streets if new mains or service upgrades are required.

"The intent reason for the moratorium ... is the reasoning behind the moratorium is we need to establish regulations for data centers," the consultant said, noting the city has limited industrial acreage and that many regulatory details need to be defensible and focused on zoning aspects: location, setbacks, lot size, maximum footprint, information on energy and water use, noise impact studies, and decommissioning plans.

Commissioners discussed a range of potential measures: confining data centers to industrial zones; imposing lot‑size minimums and maximum footprints; prohibiting water‑cooled systems or limiting water use and requiring off‑site mitigation; setbacks from residences; requiring noise and vibration studies; phasing and annual licensing reports of energy and water use; and escrow bonds to pay for decommissioning if a facility is abandoned.

Staff said they also plan to draft a licensing ordinance to collect annual operational data and require reporting from utilities (e.g., DTE) and to use bonds and decommissioning plans similar to other infrastructure‑intensive uses (solar/wind). Commissioners raised concerns about potential state preemption and the legal limits of local zoning in some areas, and about utilities' role in funding or absorbing infrastructure upgrades. No formal vote was taken; the commission asked staff and the consultant to prepare draft zoning language and a model licensing ordinance for future review, with the goal of producing defensible, implementable rules before the moratorium expires or to recommend an extension if more time is required.

Next steps: planning staff and the consultant will draft zoning amendments and licensing language addressing location, setbacks, footprint limits, cooling system restrictions, noise and decommissioning requirements and return to the commission for review.