Village of Bellevue. PC: Fox 11 Online
BELLEVUE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Village of Bellevue has approved a 12-month moratorium on the development of data centers. It’s the latest among area municipalities’ efforts to temporarily block largescale IT infrastructure projects.
Applause among attendants broke out at Wednesday’s meeting following the unanimous 5-0 decision by the village board.
As described in the moratorium measure, the mission of the temporary ban is to “provide adequate time” for the Board of Trustees to review potential ramifications to “public health, land use, environmental constraints and the general welfare of the Village.”
At Wednesday’s meeting ahead of the vote, community members were given the opportunity to comment on the measure. All who spoke raised concerns over the potential impact of allowing companies to build fleets of servers near where they live.
Bellevue resident Maureen Blaney Flietner made the plea that potential effects on residents be front and center in board considerations going forward. Regarding data centers, Flietner said, “I understand that at certain levels of megawatts, there’s more noise. I guess these things operate 24/7. They have a low-frequency drone noise. They do periodic testing of backup power that sounds like a low-flying jet. What will be the demand on the power grid? Will there be higher electric or water bills for residents? Will we have to worry about water consumption?”
Village Trustee Tom Murphy also spoke about not being in any hurry to greenlight such projects. He described being taken aback when driving by Port Washington’s ongoing massive, multi-billion-dollar data center construction project. Reflecting on the sight, Murphy said, “Developments of that scale definitely deserve a little bit more scrutiny, and we should be taking our time to look at the concerns and the impacts.” He concluded by affirming he was a ‘yes’ for the imminent moratorium vote.
Bellevue’s decision comes days after August 11’s referendum by the Village of Wrightstown, in which residents overwhelmingly voted down the referendum optioning a data center project in the village.
Similar voter and community resistance–sometimes echoed at the leadership level and resulting in limits or moratoriums–has cropped up across the state, including in Greenleaf, Manitowoc County, Dane County, Caledonia, Superior and Cassville.
It’s part of an growing pattern across Wisconsin and the country at large: some elected officials entertaining the possibility of data centers and the potential revenue that could come with it. But community outcries have often tethered such aspirations.
It’s a divisive, explosive issue that in March drew 75 Northeast Wisconsin elected officials to UWGB, to to seek out deeper discussion at an education forum.
The issue of data centers could also have ramifications for Wisconsin’s race for Governor. The Democratic Party’s candidate for Governor David Crowley is on record saying he will not embrace a statewide moratorium for data centers. A moratorium was a key platform promise by his Democratic primary rival Francesca Hong. Crowley has instead spoken in support of greater transparency surrounding data centers, which he says would include a ban on nondisclosure agreements related to data center development. Republican candidate for Governor Tom Tiffany also supports a ban on data center NDAs. Tiffany has pledged to if elected end Evers-era subsidies for data centers.
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