Should Madison hit pause on data centers? Residents to weigh in.

Madison officials want to stop large data centers from being built in the city — at least temporarily.

A proposal that would hit pause on those facilities is before the Common Council. Residents and other interested parties will be weighing in on the ordinance during a public hearing set for a Common Council meeting that begins at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

There’s been a boom in companies seeking to build data centers in Wisconsin. That’s in part because artificial intelligence is gobbling up computing and data storage space.

But, across Wisconsin, some residents have pushed back against data centers in their communities, citing concerns about high energy and water use.

In Madison, existing zoning rules don’t specifically address data centers.

Instead, those centers likely fall under the broad zoning category of “telecommunications centers.” But the rules for telecommunications centers are not tailored to the specific demands of modern data centers, zoning staff told the city’s Plan Commission this week.

“Certain large-scale data centers may pose a significant strain on energy
and water use, emergency services, traffic, noise, air quality and urban development,” zoning staff wrote in a memo attached to the ordinance. “Without a zoning regulation that reflects current best practices to responsibly manage this use, the construction of new data centers may impact the implementation of the City’s long-range land use plans, affect property values, or be detrimental to the public health, safety and general welfare.”

Madison could block data centers for 1 year

The pending legislation would stop Madison from issuing new permits for any telecommunications center — including a data center —that’s over 10,000 square feet.

That moratorium would remain in place for up to a year, or until or until the Common Council has time to adopt new zoning regulations for data centers.

The goal is to give city staff more time to research the issue and get public feedback, sponsors said.

“We need to take a breather and figure this out,” Alder Derek Field said during Monday’s Plan Commission meeting.

Madison officials haven’t kept track of how many data centers are already in the city since, so far, those facilities haven’t been set aside as their own zoning category.

In a recent memo, zoning staff estimated that there may be two such data centers over 10,000 square feet already in the city. Those facilities would not be affected by the moratorium, since they’ve already been built. Instead, the ordinance would apply to new projects.

At the regional level, an advisory committee in Dane County will explore the impacts of data centers, and is poised to make recommendations that Madison officials could choose to take up.

Chamber of Commerce opposes moratorium

Meanwhile, the proposed moratorium is hitting opposition from some business leaders.

Earlier this week, David Aguayo spoke out against the proposal on behalf of the board of directors for the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.

“Moratoriums, by nature, are blunt instruments that shut the door on any investment opportunity,” Aguayo warned.

Aguayo asked the Plan Commission to refer the matter to Madison’s Economic Development Committee for further consideration.

Instead, the Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the ordinance, and it advanced to the full Common Council.

It’s likely the moratorium will be adopted by the Council. It has the support of Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and a majority of city alders.