Kirtis Orendorff, Community Development Educator
This has been an ongoing effort to better understand the current state of educational materials, land use ordinance, and relevant state case law surrounding the emerging land use of data centers. The findings of these efforts will help better prepare local government officials to update their land use ordinances with the best understanding of the impacts of these data center developments.
Officials from multiple municipalities in Sheboygan County have expressed educational needs regarding the new and emerging land use of data centers, especially in response to current developments in Port Washington and Beaver Dam. This educational need regarding land uses is concurrent with efforts to distribute materials regarding large scale solar developments. Officials are seeking education regarding regulatory powers regarding data center land uses, impacts on the community, and environmental and infrastructure concerns. Researching the land use requires multiple steps of inquiry. First, we needed to understand what concerns there were from community members. We also needed an understanding of what municipalities have in their zoning ordinances to address this land use at present. Then we began speaking to other educators and urban planning contacts to understand the current state of educational materials and efforts. We then compiled examples of other municipalities’ efforts regarding land use ordinance updates. Karl Green, Community Development Specialist with UW-Extension, will be bringing a presentation regarding data center land use and community impacts to the December Wisconsin Towns Association meeting. Continuing efforts will be made to distribute materials to relevant municipal officials regarding ordinance updates and impacts will follow this presentation to municipalities in Sheboygan County.Â