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Sterling Heights passes 1-year moratorium on data center site requests

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Paula Wethington
Paula Wethington
Web Producer
Paula Wethington is a digital producer at CBS Detroit. She previously held digital content roles at NEWSnet, Gannett/USA Today network and The Monroe News in Michigan. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.
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Paula Wethington

/ CBS Detroit

The Sterling Heights City Council has invoked a one-year moratorium on data center site requests, saying they want to take the time to research a spike in such development requests they've noticed across Southeast Michigan.

The resolution calling for the moratorium passed unanimously .

"What we want to do is be prepared in case we get an application for this," Dr. Jake Parcell, city planner, said when presenting his recommendation.

Business technology equipment and computer services that were once housed on site are increasingly using shared servers and networks, Parcell said during his presentation. But that equipment needs to be sited somewhere, and the recent interest in artificial intelligence is also contributing to the use of larger-scale server facilities. He listed off several proposed data center sites in Southeast Michigan, including in Howell Township and Saline Township, that have seen public and media attention in recent months.

While Sterling Heights doesn't have the acreage that would be needed for a large-scale server facility, Parcell said the current zoning ordinance would permit it in certain zoning districts labeled for office or industrial use. In theory, a smaller site could be housed on one of those parcels, city officials said, although no such queries are pending.

Sterling Heights' zoning restrictions were written in 1978, which city officials noted do not reflect the significant changes in computer use and networking capabilities since that time.

The moratorium is intended to allow city officials time to study topics such as trends in modern computing, a data center's potential impacts on electricity and other resources, and whether any resulting equipment noise should limit how close such a site is located to residential property. With that information, they would be able to create rules and regulations appropriate to the circumstances.

"This is more preparation on our part," councilman Michael V. Radtke Jr. said before the vote.

"Let's stop and make some plans," councilwoman Barbara Z. Ziarko said.

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