Developers have pulled their rezoning bid for a 1,000-acre Howell Township parcel that was being positioned for a “massive AI data center.”
The township already passed a six-month moratorium on new data center applications, and will now use this pause to define “data processing” and craft specific data center regulations.
This is a classic land-use and community-pushback bottleneck that can slow hyperscale GPU buildouts more than chip availability.
The withdrawal signals higher permitting and political risk for greenfield AI campuses, especially those needing large contiguous acreage and big power draws.
Operators and cloud vendors eyeing similar rural conversions should expect longer timelines, more public scrutiny, and potentially tighter energy and zoning constraints.
Local boards are learning in real time how to regulate AI data centers, which will shape where future GPU capacity actually lands.
The linked piece is worth a read for a ground-level view of how community resistance can derail AI infrastructure plans.
