WISCONSIN RAPIDS − The Planning Commission meeting originally scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. Aug. 3 has been postponed.
The city’s Planning Commission was expected to review recommended modifications to its zoning code relating to data center use at the meeting.
Mayor Matt Zacher said in a Facebook post that due to significant interest and high attendance at recent events related to potential data center developments, as well as in-person absentee voting taking place in the City Hall lobby, the decision was made to move the meeting to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 10 in the Wisconsin Rapids Area Middle School auditorium, 1921 27th Ave. S., to better accommodate expected attendance.
The meeting was originally scheduled to take place in City Council Chambers at City Hall.
City Council President Madalyn Palmquist submitted a request to review and consider modifications to Chapter 11 – Zoning Code (Appendix B) as it relates to data center land use at the meeting. According to the agenda for the Aug. 3 meeting, the zoning code recommendations were set for discussion only and no action would be taken.
What are the recommendations?
Palmquist’s request, dated July 1, describes feedback she has received from residents and nonresidents with concerns about regulations and restrictions for water supply and capacity, wastewater treatment, electrical utility infrastructure and noise.
Those modifications include requiring the most-up-to-date cooling technology with sustainable features, banning the use of PFAS, stricter noise mitigation with maximum decibel levels, written documentation the company can adequately supply and treat all water on site and adding a Community Benefits Agreement section to the code.
According to the recommendation, a Community Benefits Agreement should combat gentrification, ensure future economic growth and safeguard living standards within the city. The agreement should include independent compliance monitoring of water, electricity and noise, according to the recommendations, define penalties for noncompliance, include timelines, mandates for local labor, procurement quotas and developer-funded environmental remediation.
In Palmquist’s letter to the city’s Planning Commission outlining recommendations, she stated the referral is intended to be a starting point for the Planning Commission to refine the existing regulations. The commission could choose to make no changes, recommend the changes suggested, recommend similar changes or recommend other changes to the zoning code.
“I defer to the expertise of the Planning Commission, Community Development Department and the Council to recommend and implement additional regulations to ensure our community is protected from potential negative impact while remaining agile to benefit from the significant revenue that this type of industry can provide,” Palmquist wrote in the letter to the Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission was also set to discuss potential options to enact a moratorium relating to constructing, assembling or developing new hyperscale data centers in the city. Any potential moratorium would apply only to future projects and would not cover any application currently pending with the city.
Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@usatodayco.com or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @Jamie_Rokus.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Aug. 3 meeting to discuss data center ordinance changes postponed
Reporting by Jamie Rokus and Caitlin Shuda, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune / Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jamie Rokus and Caitlin Shuda, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune | USA TODAY Network
