Residents from Allen Park and other Downriver cities fill the city council chamber at Allen Park city hall June 4 to learn of the Planning Commission’s decision on a proposed data center’s preliminary site plan.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK – City officials approved measures to block a proposed data center for at least six months during the June 4 Planning Commission meeting and the June 9 City Council meeting.
The Planning Commission rescinded its previous motion to approve a preliminary site plan for Solstice Data’s proposed data center at 7500 Enterprise Drive south of I-94, which is near Melvindale High School, residential neighborhoods, Inter-City Baptist Church and Maple Heights Senior Living Facility.
The proposed 53,000-square-foot facility would have a closed loop cooling system and 12 back-up diesel generators.
David Gibson, senior vice president for power and land for Solstice Data, spoke to the commission, addressing concerns, but was met with boos and hostility from attendees. He said that the proposed data center met the city’s zoning regulations, and sought a police escort to the parking lot when he left the meeting.
David Gibson (at podium), senior vice president for power and land for Solstice Data, which hopes to build a 26-megawatt data center in Allen Park, speaks June 4 at an Allen Park Planning Commission meeting.
Planner Mike Auerbach of Carlisle/Wortman and Associates said Solstice could go to the Zoning Board of Appeals to address the Planning Commission’s site plan denial.
Noise from the proposed data center’s backup generators, the potential air pollution from diesel generators and demand for local water and electrical power were raised as concerns.
The Planning Commission voted to 7-2 to reject the preliminary site plan. Mike Auerbach, Ross Smith, Nick Darin, Fred Frank, Mike Muszynski, Jasmine Sheffield and Madison LaPalm were opposed to the preliminary site plan for the proposed data center, with Joseph Palmisano and Dennis Randt in favor of allowing the project to go forward. Councilmember Dan Loyd, who serves as the council representative on the commission, appeared to oppose the preliminary site plan as well.
The next week, during its June 9 meeting, the council adopted an emergency ordinance imposing a six-month moratorium on any data center in the city. The wording of the ordinance banned the establishment, permit process, consideration, approval, location, construction and installation of any data center.
Earlier in the meeting the council also tightened up its noise control ordinance, which could have a direct impact on any future data center.
Residents line up to speak during public comment time during a June 4 Planning Commission meeting about a proposed data center, in the city council chamber at Allen Park city hall.
A family watches the Allen Park Planning Commission meeting June 4 through a window from outside the packed city council chamber at Allen Park City Hall during deliberations about a proposed data center.
Allen Park police officers stand by to help ensure a civil atmosphere during a June 4 Planning Commission meeting about a proposed data center in the city council chamber at Allen Park city hall.
Allen Park City Clerk Michael Mizzi reads aloud a data center six-month moratorium proposal prior to a vote during the June 8 City Council meeting.
State Rep. Erin Byrnes (D-15th District) speaks during a June 4 Planning Commission meeting about a proposed data center in the city council chamber at Allen Park city hall.