Howell Township has provided an updated timeline for a controversial data center development proposed by an unidentified major technology company on over 1,000 acres in Livingston County.
According to the municipality, applications for the project’s rezoning and text amendment requests have been officially forwarded to the Livingston County Planning Commission for consideration Nov. 19.
Livingston County Planning Director Scott Barb previously told The Daily the topic wasn’t discussed in October because commissioners hadn’t yet received the full application for rezoning, and had been asked by Howell Township to remove the text amendment request from their agenda.
The body will make a recommendation to approve or deny the project, following a recommendation of denial by the Howell Township Planning Commission during an hourslong meeting Sept. 23 that lasted into the early morning hours.
The project, which developers believe could bring millions of tax dollars into Livingston County, is proposed for numerous parcels east of Handy Township along Marr Road, Fleming Road, Warner Road and Owosso Road.
Following a recommendation from the Livingston County Planning Commission, the Howell Township Board of Trustees will consider whether to allow rezoning of those parcels and make an ordinance change that would define data centers.
The land would be developed into a single-story data processing facility with offices, data centers and infrastructure.
Residents have largely spoken against the development, voicing concerns about property values, noise levels, and infrastructure and environmental impacts. A handful of supporters have countered with possible economic benefits to Howell Township and Livingston County.
According to the timeline provided by Howell Township, the requests are tentatively scheduled to go before trustees Dec. 8. They can approve, deny, table or send the requests back to planning commissioners for further consideration.
— Contact reporter Makayla Coffee at mcoffee@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell Township releases updated timeline for data center consideration. What to know
Reporting by Makayla Coffee, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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