Planning Commission Recommends Denial to Township Board in Rezoning Request

Commission votes 5-2 against rezoning 575-acre parcel from agricultural to industrial use; Township Board to decide next

Following last week’s regular planning commission meeting, another meeting was convened Tuesday evening, August 12, 2025, at the Saline Township Hall. The only agenda item was the conditional rezoning request from Related Digital on a 575-acre parcel to host a data center. The rezoning request would change the 575-acre parcel from A1 (agricultural) to I1 (industrial/research).

Approximately forty township residents attended and listened as Brent Behrman, CEO of Related Digital, answered the four issues raised at the previous commission meeting. The issues included:

• Traffic  – the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) rates traffic studies from A to F, with A meaning negligible impact on existing traffic. Related Digital’s study was submitted to MDOT, and they received approval of their study with an A rating. According to current traffic flow patterns, construction traffic will be arriving and leaving in the opposite direction from the current rush-hour traffic patterns.
• Illumination – all lights on the property will be shielded and focused in a downward direction. After dark, the lights will be lowered to 50% of lighting capacity.
• Sound – a sound study conducted by Related Digital showed that sound on the site would range from 48-65 decibels, below the allowable level in township zoning ordinances.
• Property values – in a review of property values in New Albany, Ohio, where several data centers currently exist and are in operation, since 2022, property values have risen by 14%.

In addition, Behrman stated that Related Digital has agreed to include in a development agreement language that guarantees the project will not expand. Upon questioning, the company also agreed to include a decommissioning bond whenever the project is no longer viable. The decommissioning bond would be used to restore the property to its original condition prior to development.

Township residents were afforded the opportunity to ask questions and make public comments. One after another, township residents rose to question Related Digital or voice generic disapproval of the proposed project. Unlike last week’s public hearing, the public comments included a few residents who voiced objections laced with obscenities. Other residents cited information they found online as the basis for their objections.

And some cited their own experiences to disqualify the information provided by the developer. Questioned over the projected financial benefits to the township, Behrman explained the revenue, “with the property, buildings and the personal property projected to be onsite, the estimated value of the project is $715 million. That is how we arrived at the numbers quoted here tonight.”

Several residents, as well as commission vice-chair Stephen Rothfuss, questioned why the township should take their word for the numbers. Township consulting attorney Fred Lucas explained, “The math is simple. You take the estimated value of the property and multiply by the mills assessed and that will give you the amount of tax revenue.”

“I can guarantee you that this project will net the township significantly more money than a housing development,” Lucas explained. “All housing includes a property exemption that limits the amount of property taxes that can be collected. That exemption doesn’t apply to businesses.”

Three residents who reside close to the proposed development spoke in support of the project. They implored people to understand that the choice wasn’t between a data center and farmland. It would be between a data center, 400+ houses, or 575 acres of a solar project.

Lucas reminded the citizens that the township has received notifications that the two properties associated with the rezoning request have already submitted applications to remove the properties from PA116, the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program.

Luke Schmerberg, from Schmerberg Law in Saline, represents one of the landowners. “The property has been removed from PA116. This property is going to be sold and is going to be developed,” Schmerberg said. “I can tell you that two other buyers have expressed interest in this property.”

100% of the residents present spoke in opposition to a solar energy project on the property. Schmerberg said that Invenergy was one of the interested parties. Invenergy is a developer of solar energy.

After over an hour of public comment, Commissioner Ronnie Kohler made a motion to recommend to the township board to deny the rezoning request. It passed on a 5-2 vote. Planning commission chair Gary Luckhardt and commissioner Tom Hammond were the two no votes.

“Even though I had questions, I voted to recommend this rezoning request to the board because I believe it is in the best interest of the township,” Luckhardt said.

The Saline Township Board will meet on Wednesday, August 13 at 7 p.m. at the township hall on Braud Road. The planning commission’s recommendation to deny the zoning request is expected to be on the agenda.