Sheboygan council adopts temporary moratorium on large data centers

The Sheboygan Common Council voted unanimously to adopt a temporary moratorium on zoning and building permits for data centers with more than 10,000 square feet of floor area, a measure sponsors said will give the city time to draft comprehensive zoning rules addressing siting, utilities and community protections.

The six-page moratorium ordinance, introduced by Alder Gravene and supported by council sponsors, was described by backers as a hold-the-line measure while the city updates its zoning code and waits for possible state guidance. Public commenters urged the council to act: Mary Lynn Donahue said she brought over 1,400 handwritten petition signatures and an online petition opposing any large AI data center in Sheboygan, arguing the city needs safeguards on water, wastewater, electricity, noise, transparency and taxpayer protection. "This 12-month moratorium approved unanimously by the plan commission on July 14 gives the city the time necessary to develop a new comprehensive zoning ordinance with clear standards and community protections for data center location," Donahue said during public comment.

Opponents said a long moratorium risks slowing investment. Mike Burnett told the council he thought existing rules were sufficient and warned a yearlong ban could remove leverage for future negotiations and deter projects. "Why does it take a year?" he asked, saying the city already has mechanisms to handle specifics during review.

Council members discussed specific exceptions and how the moratorium treats prior property entitlements. City Attorney Liz said that for the ordinance an eligible "property entitlement" is any formal application for permission to use property (a building permit, zoning application or similar permission) submitted before the moratorium pos;s effective date. She said that permissions granted by another municipality prior to annexation would be governed by that municipality pos;s approvals until the property is annexed, at which point the property must conform to Sheboygan pos;s regulations.

Several council members acknowledged that the moratorium pos;s language includes a "whichever is later" clause for its end date, meaning the moratorium will run to the stated calendar limit or until data-center zoning regulations are adopted and take effect, whichever comes later. The city attorney said sponsors requested that phrasing to allow time for state-level action if it develops. Some alderpersons said they favored an earlier end date but supported the moratorium as a first step to update local rules.

The council approved the ordinance by a roll-call vote (9 ayes). Next steps identified by council members include drafting new zoning code language, engaging professional expertise for technical standards, and returning to plan commission and council for the ordinance pos;s implementation details and any potential extension. The ordinance as adopted exempts existing primary-use facilities and other narrowly defined categories; council discussion noted the importance of distinguishing primary use from incidental or secondary data operations.

The moratorium is intended to be temporary and to preserve the city pos;s ability to set local standards that address siting, utilities, transparency and public protections before new large-scale data-center projects move forward.