Appleton is considering a yearlong pause on data center development, and residents will get a chance to weigh in this week.
The City Plan Commission is scheduled to consider the proposed 12-month moratorium at its meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at City Hall, 100 N. Appleton St. The public hearing is set for 3:30 p.m. The pause would give city staff time to study the potential effects of data centers and decide whether changes to the municipal code are warranted.
Principal Planner Colin Kafka wrote in a memo that the city's existing code has no language specific to data centers. Under the proposal, a data center would be defined as a facility of at least 20,000 square feet whose primary function is processing digital data.
Public Works Director Laura Jungwirth advised in a letter that the effect of such a facility on wastewater treatment, stormwater, fire protection, transportation and other public services cannot be determined without project-specific information, and that a temporary pause would let the city set clear expectations for review.
Dozens of Wisconsin counties and municipalities have adopted similar moratoriums on hyperscale data centers. Community Development Director Kara Homan told the commission in September that she is not aware of any hyperscale data center interest in Appleton, noting the city lacks vacant land of the size those projects typically require.
