The Wisconsin Rapids Common Council voted 7-0, Tuesday night, to reject a conditional use permit for a new hyper-scale data center.
The proposal, by the PNK group, would have built the center at the old paper mill site.
The South Wood County Neighbors for Responsible Development were formed in April with the goal of fighting this data center; tonight, their goal was accomplished.
“It’s been six months of just non-stop data center; everything, everyday, twenty-four seven was basically dedicated to this, and preventing this project from coming here,” said Marissa Johnson of South Wood County Neighbors for Responsible Development. “It was incomplete, it was a terrible application and it never should have been voted through, and they did the right thing. We are very very happy."
Mayor Matt Zacher says he's not opposed to all data center, but it's worth it for the city to take its time to make sure its done right.
"If we let them build it and it is a really horrible data center, we are living with it for the next 20, 50, 70 years," Zacher said. "And we don't want that for the community, if we can help it on the front end. Build it right the first time, and we'll be OK."
The proposed data center has been a hot topic for months, with people gathering for protest and informational meetings and speaking out against the proposal worried about things like noise and its potential impact on energy costs. Meanwhile, the PNK Group held its own meetings, touting its potential benefits.
On October 9, the city entered a one year moratorium on data centers, with the option to extend it to 18 months. That means no data center proposals are allowed until the moratorium is lifted.
The city will use that time to reevaluate its ordinance, to ensure the city is more prepared for any future applications.
