ROMULUS (WWJ) -- Romulus is the latest Metro Detroit community to press the pause button on data centers.
The Romulus City Council, at their meeting Monday night, unanimously passed a 180-day moratorium on data centers
This takes effect immediately.
Mayor Robert McCraight said the city will use the time to study how to regulate data centers, including how to measure their electrical demand. An ordinance will then be developed.
Some residents who spoke at Monday night's meeting say the moratorium doesn't go far enough, calling for an outright ban on data centers.
"We don't need any more data center around; we have way to many already — one between Beck and Denton, there's one right here on the service drive now," said one woman, adding, "And I don't want one in my backyard."
Two council members also suggested looking into a ban.
Data centers — warehouse-sized facilities that house thousands of computer servers powering everything from cloud storage to artificial intelligence — have increasingly become a flashpoint for local governments. While the facilities drive the digital economy, critics and residents say they place heavy demands on host communities while not offering much or any benefit to locals.
A single facility can draw as much electricity as a small town, consume millions of gallons of water daily for cooling, and produce continuous industrial noise, all while generating relatively few permanent jobs once construction ends. Those strain-related concerns on local utilities, water supplies, and neighborhood quality of life have prompted a growing number of municipalities across the country to freeze new approvals until stricter zoning and environmental protections can be adopted.
Cities including Sterling Heights, Taylor, Northville, and South Lyon have passed year-long pauses on new data center construction. Armada, Springfield, and Lenox townships also have put holds on projects as residents and officials push back against potential utility strain and noise impacts
