The Saline Township Planning Commission tabled a rezoning request from Related Digital for a 575-acre data center site, citing the need for more information after hearing extensive community feedback.
Image: Conceptual rendering of the data center. Courtesy Related Digital
In an overflow crowd at the Saline Township Planning Commission meeting Tuesday evening, a public hearing requesting community feedback on Related Digital’s request to rezone 575 acres, located north of US-12 and east of Braun Road, from agricultural to I-1 Industrial, was held.
Brent Behrman, CEO of Related Digital, stated that only 250 acres of the 575 being purchased will be developed into a comprehensive data center. “We are proposing a conditional use permit that will specify that the property can only be used as a data center and nothing else.”
Township consulting attorney Fred Lucas confirmed that statement, “With a conditional use permit, it guarantees the only thing that can go on the property is a data center. The terms of the conditional use permit will exist in perpetuity, unless and until the township board approves any changes.”
In explaining what a data center is, Behrman said, “The project will consist of five buildings. Three buildings (each 540,000 square feet) will have rows and rows of electronics, such as servers, computers and electrical equipment. There will be an 80,000 square foot building that will have nine generators, which will only be used during a DTE power outage and once per month for testing.”
The site will also include a 100,000-square-foot warehouse and a small administrative office building. “We will dig a 112’ well and have a small onsite wastewater treatment plant,” Behrman said. He emphasized that water would be for domestic use only. “Our cooling systems are not water-based, so after the coolant pipes are filled, there is no more water required for the coolant systems.” The data center is projected to host approximately 150 employees. Related Digital is responsible for onsite security, while the client that will be using the data center is responsible for all aspects of cybersecurity.
“For a data center this size, there are really only five companies that could make use of a facility of this size,” Behrman said. “It would be companies like Microsoft, Facebook/Meta, Oracle, Google and Amazon.”
Related Digital explained the rationale for the location. The property is near DTE and ITC substations. International Transmission Company, known as ITC Holdings Corporation. DTE generates energy, and ITC transmits the energy to its various destinations.
Dan Mahoney, Director, Policy & Regional Affairs at DTE, spoke in support of the project. “We support this project not just because of the positive impact it can have on the local community, but because it can also have a meaningful impact on affordability for our customers.” Mahoney continued, “This proposed project will become a major contributor to the investments DTE is already making in the distribution grid and our generation fleet, helping make our electric systems more stable and resilient for everyone.”
The financial benefits to the community were explained. Property taxes collected on the property would increase to an estimated $1,600,000. Revenue to Saline Area Schools would quadruple to nearly $8,000,000. In addition, Related Digital would make a $2,000,000 contribution for local fire service, which Chief Sperle said would be used to upgrade aging department equipment.
Related Digital would make a $1,000,000 contribution for the establishment of a community investment fund to be administered by the township. An additional donation of $100,000 for historic cemetery repairs and maintenance.
During the public hearing, township residents spoke in support and opposition to the proposed rezoning request. Township residents’ concerns mainly centered around issues of water runoff and potential for flooding, disruptions to electrical service, and the impact on traffic on US-12. A preliminary study of traffic had been conducted, which estimated that traffic on US-12 averaged around 9,000 cars daily. The study was conducted over several days, during both morning and afternoon rush hours.
Residents were very concerned about the impact an additional 150 employees would have on local traffic. “Our initial conversations with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) showed that a right turn lane into the property as well as a left-turn or passing lane would be required,” Behrman said. MDOT believed these additions would get traffic off US-12 when entering the site, allowing for continuous flow of cars on US-12.
There were three people in attendance who had visited data centers in operation in Albany, Ohio, to get an understanding of what a data center looked like. All three were effusive in their praise of the sites. They concluded that you really couldn’t see the centers because of the landscaping and berms around the sites. They reported there was no noise, no odors and when speaking to people who lived near the property, all said that the data centers were good neighbors.
Families selling the properties made clear that they do not intend to continue farming. Citing a variety of reasons, from medical issues to losing family members who farmed the property, they tried to consider what was best for the township as well as their families. They said they believed a data center offered a better alternative than a large residential development.
After over two hours of listening to public comments, the planning commission stated they did not have enough information to proceed with a vote, and by a 6-1 vote, they tabled the request.
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
