New Data Center Regulations Previewed at Community Meeting

New provisions to regulate data centers in East Lansing, including limits on noise, building size and water usage, were previewed at a community meeting on Thursday, Oct. 22. 

Previously, the city established a multi-department workgroup to propose data center regulations that are not addressed by current ordinances. A moratorium on data centers took effect in March 2026 and runs until March 17, 2027 to give the group time to develop regulations. While new rules were previewed at the meeting Thursday, a final draft ordinance is not likely to be presented to the City Council until December or later. 

During the moratorium window, the workgroup has consulted experts, analyzed environmental data and reviewed other communities’ data center regulations.

No formal applications have been submitted yet to build data centers in East Lansing, according to Principal Planner Landon Bartley, though the city has received “quite a few inquiries” before and during the moratorium period. 

“I think there’s interest here,” Bartley said. “We just haven’t gotten any real, formal interest around data centers.” 

Data centers are facilities that house IT infrastructure used to process, store and distribute digital data. They generally fall into three categories: micro, standard and hyperscale, though sizes are not universally standardized. Because rapid data center expansion raises environmental and infrastructure concerns, the workgroup suggested scale limits: under 10,000 gross square feet for micro centers, under 250,000 square feet for standard centers and under 500,000 square feet for hyperscale centers. 

For comparison, a city staff member noted that the Meijer on Lake Lansing Road is 221,000 square feet. Residents at the meeting expressed concern over the gargantuan scale of hyperscale facilities, calling them too big for the community. 

Resource consumption was a primary focus at the forum. Because many data centers require vast amounts of water for cooling, the workgroup plans to suggest prohibiting evaporative cooling systems that burn through a great amount of water. Bartley noted that East Lansing and Meridian Township collectively consume 11.6 million gallons of water per day, while a single hyperscale data center can demand millions of gallons daily. 

“If we had someone saying, ‘I’m going to [use] five million gallons a day,’ that’s a huge amount of water compared to our overall use,” Bartley said. 

Regarding power usage, the group is proposing to require facilities to draw energy from the Lansing Board of Water and Light, or BWL. In response to audience concerns about data centers driving up local electricity rates, Mayor Erik Altmann noted that East Lansing currently lacks representation or leverage on the BWL board since losing its non-voting seat. 

Noise regulations were also introduced to counter the continuous low-frequency hums and vibrations produced by facility machinery. The workgroup recommends requiring operators to run independent noise studies before construction, after construction and annually thereafter, with the city selecting the testing firm. 

To ensure no damage is caused, the recommendation sets limits on two frequencies: one that measures the audible noise the human ear hears (dBA) and another that measures low frequencies like bass (dBC). The limits are measured based on the noise picked up at adjacent property lines.

For audible noise, the proposed daytime limit is similar to the noise of a coffee maker brewing (55 dBA). The nighttime limit is similar to a quiet in-room air conditioner (45 dBA).

For daytime low frequency limits, the committee recommends setting a limit similar to a heavy HVAC hum (65 dBC). At night, the proposed limit is comparable to a large commercial air conditioning unit running 100 feet away (55 dBC).

Finding physical space for these facilities presents a major hurdle. The workgroup proposes restricting data centers to the city’s two industrial zones: Manufacturing and Office Industrial Park. Together, these zones comprise just eight parcels totaling 15 to 20 acres, two of which belong to Michigan State University. 

“The industrial locations make the most sense,” Bartley said. “They are quite limited, so we would have to execute a rezoning in my opinion if … any data center … wanted to go bigger.” 

Due to the limited industrial space, an applicant would have to obtain a Special Use Permit to rezone land, Bartley said. This would add an additional level of public input to the process and require developers to receive approval for the rezoning request from the City Council. 

Bartley clarified that the workgroup is working on text amendments to update the zoning language itself, rather than altering the physical zoning map. 

To protect the city if data center companies fail or cease operations, the workgroup recommends requiring applicants to submit comprehensive decommissioning plans backed by financial assurance in the form of construction, landscaping and decommissioning bonds.

Finally, addressing transparency concerns, specifically how other cities like Saline have utilized Non-Disclosure Agreements, or NDAs, to fast-track data center projects in secret, the workgroup is reviewing legal options. They hope to establish boundaries regarding NDAs between applicants and elected or appointed City of East Lansing officials, staff, or contractors, pending official confirmation of municipality rights from the city attorney.

The earliest an ordinance draft could be introduced to the City Council is Nov. 17, though Bartley expects the process to extend into late December or early 2027. Once introduced, the ordinance must pass through mandatory public hearings with the Planning Commission and City Council before adoption.