Overview
- The board voted unanimously for a six-month moratorium to pause data center applications while it drafts regulations, though the Dec. 8 rezoning vote can still occur and site plans would wait until the pause lifts.
- County planners unanimously urged denial of rezoning after the township planning commission did the same, citing conflicts with master-plan goals for farmland.
- A Howell trustee publicly identified Meta as the company behind the proposed $1 billion campus on more than 1,000 acres near Grand River Avenue.
- Developer representatives offered binding conditions including reimbursing infrastructure costs, capping the built footprint at 50%, 400-foot setbacks, donating about 125 acres for open space, and exploring dry-cooling to cut water use.
- Residents organized petitions and warned of a referendum if rezoning passes, as nearby Pittsfield Township enacted its own six-month pause to craft rules.