LANSING, Mich. — A citizen petition that suspended a data center ordinance forced Mason city leaders into a high-stakes decision Monday night: kill the proposal altogether or let voters weigh in come November.
- Mason City Council voted 4-2 to repeal Ordinance 266, the city's rule book on data center construction covering size, location and noise.
- A citizen-led petition had garnered enough signatures to suspend the ordinance prior to Monday night's meeting.
- With the repeal, Mason now falls back to M2 state regulations for data center construction, and the path forward remains uncertain.
WATCH: MASON CITY COUNCIL REPEALS DATA CENTER ORDINANCE, FUTURE REGULATION UNCLEAR
"All those in favor say yes. Opposed no. The motion is approved 4-2," said Mayor Russell Whipple.
The city of Mason is now back to square one on data center regulation.
Ordinance 266, the city's M3 zoning ordinance it adopted last month, had been designed as a framework for handling data centers in the city.
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The ordinance laid out guidelines on everything from size to location to noise. It was suspended after a petition circulated and gathered enough signatures. Monday night, the council was left with a choice. They chose to repeal it entirely.
The meeting was anything but quiet.
Tempers flared during public comment. Some of the more than 30 speakers accused council members of lacking transparency throughout the ordinance process. Others felt their voices weren't being heard by the elected officials entrusted to represent them.
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"Recall the ordinance and actually work with us," one resident said.
"You need to go. Okay, you're not representing me or our city. You need to go," said another.
"I hope this isn't the beginning of the end of a beautiful town," a third speaker added.
Not everyone was hostile. Some speakers backed the council's efforts but acknowledged the process could have benefited from broader community involvement.
"Maybe this was too big to try to handle in a small group, and perhaps going forward members can ask others for help to draft such ordinances," one resident said.
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City Council member Jerry Schaffer was one of two votes against the repeal and made his frustration clear.
"Why can't we work with the citizens in the city and outside the city if necessary to strengthen this weak ordinance and make it worth our time?" Schaffer said
Mayor Whipple, who voted in favor of the repeal, said the move was about buying the city more flexibility going forward not surrendering control.
WATCH: PROPOSED DEEP GREEN DATA CENTER PRESENTATION DRAWS LARGE CROWD AT LANSING CITY COUNCIL MEETING
"We can turn around and re-enact it at the next meeting. Or we could re-enact another ordinance that's different. There would be no issues with that," Whipple said. "If we wait for the vote, then we wouldn't be able to do anything for the next five months because it would be suspended."
Still, even the mayor acknowledged the situation isn't ideal.
"We would've been in a better position, but now we're in chaos. We're in chaos," Whipple said.
In the wake of the repeal, Mason will fall back to M2 state regulations governing data center construction. It's unclear how, or how quickly, the city will move to address the regulatory gap left behind.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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