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WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – The Wisconsin Rapids Planning Commission voted 6-0 Monday night to approve a 12-month moratorium on data centers in the city.
The vote came during a major public hearing on the proposed hyper-scale data center at the old paper mill site. The meeting was originally scheduled for last week but was delayed and moved to the middle school auditorium to accommodate a larger crowd.
Throughout the process, many in the community have been vocal about their concerns.
“Basically it would be a one year (12 month) moratorium that would prevent any data centers from coming here in the next 12 months,” said Marissa Johnson, one of the organizers against data centers. “There is, for one, a chance for the rules and regulations to catch up to this industry because it is a free-for-all at this point and also for us to get our ducks in a row because we do want responsible development. That is the key thing here.”
Many cities are trying to figure out how to protect themselves without explicitly banning data centers. Wausau recently adopted a specialized zoning ordinance to define and limit where any future data center could go in the city.
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