Zoning committee approves 18‑month moratorium on large data‑center permits, sends ordinance to county board

The Sawyer County Zoning Committee voted on July 15 to approve and forward to the Sawyer County Board a temporary ordinance imposing an 18‑month moratorium on accepting applications for large data centers and associated infrastructure. Staff framed the moratorium as a stopgap to give the county time to research definitions, environmental impacts and model ordinance language used by other Wisconsin counties; legal counsel said an ordinance would give the county a clear pause while it develops policy options.

Legal counsel told the committee that counties across the state are handling the issue differently and that a temporary moratorium is a reasonable way to allow Sawyer County to investigate options without inadvertently approving large-scale projects under an unclear code: "I do think that this moratorium does make sense... the 18 month time period does give the county time to investigate options," the counsel said. Staff said the moratorium would not apply to smaller head-end or network-hub facilities and that town notification would follow the committee's action.

Public comment during the hearing supported careful drafting and urged the committee to avoid the procedural confusion experienced when the county previously adopted a solar moratorium and then debated scope and statutory conflicts. Linda Zilmer, a property owner, recommended clarifying that the moratorium should not automatically end on the ordinance's effective date if that ordinance faces timely legal challenge or appeal.

The committee approved the moratorium by voice and roll-call vote and directed staff to notify towns and forward the proposed ordinance to the county board for action. Staff noted that the moratorium is intended to provide time to evaluate model ordinances and potential statutory changes, and to consider impacts including siting, acreage requirements and environmental effects.

Next steps: zoning staff will distribute a summary letter to town boards, gather input and return with refined language or recommendations for county-board consideration during the ordinance process.