Henrietta Township in Michigan is pre-writing a data center ordinance before any AI or cloud developers show up, signaling that local rules will shape where GPU-heavy builds can actually land.
The proposal restricts data centers to specific commercial and industrial zones and layers on noise, traffic, utility, air, and water impact studies, which directly hits power and cooling planning.
Water conservation plans, possible limits on private wells, and bans on floodplains and wetlands show how cooling strategy and site selection for high-density compute will be constrained in rural markets.
The township wants businesses to fund their own infrastructure and avoid draining small-grid and water budgets, which means higher upfront costs and more scrutiny on power upgrades for hyperscale or colo operators.
Aesthetic and setback requirements add more land and capex overhead, increasing friction for large, warehouse-style campuses typical of modern GPU clusters.
Required decommissioning plans mirror wind and solar rules and will push operators to price in full lifecycle costs for data center shells and potential contamination.
With Michigan offering tax breaks but townships tightening rules, this piece is a useful window into how local regulation will gate AI data center deployment even in incentive-heavy states.
Source: Michigan township crafts data center rules before developers arrive – mlive.com
