Residents urge Dunn County planners to block hyperscale data centers, citing noise and water worries

Johanna Kelner, a Menomonie-area resident, told the Dunn County Planning, Resource and Development Committee on May 21 that she and many neighbors oppose locating a hyperscale data center in the county, saying such development would harm rural character, recreation and the shared aquifer. “We really don't want to have a data center in the area,” Kelner said, adding that she collected more than 100 signatures for a referendum supporting a new zoning district.

Another resident, Pat Cartmill of Elk Mound, urged greater coordination among overlapping town, village and county planning bodies so local governments can respond together when industrial-scale projects are proposed. “Transparency amongst the groups and the residents to me is very important,” Cartmill told the committee.

Blaine Halverson, who identified himself as a regional organizer, said communities across western Wisconsin are pursuing temporary moratoriums and other tools to buy time to update comprehensive plans and zoning. “Moratoriums create time … to understand the projects, time to coordinate,” Halverson said, and described a June 13–14 regional summit and town hall to share information and build a shared local response.

Committee members accepted the comments as input on the county’s comprehensive-plan process but did not take immediate regulatory action at the meeting. Staff noted the comprehensive-plan update and future land-use maps will be used to identify areas better suited for growth or preservation and said outreach events are planned in early June. No motion or vote on moratoriums or zoning changes was recorded during the session.

The committee’s next steps will follow the standard planning process: staff will collect public input, refine future land-use maps and bring any formal zoning or moratorium proposals back to the committee for deliberation and, if recommended, to the county board for action.