With data centers seemingly popping up all across Wisconsin, cities are starting to regulate them.
Cities like Menomonie have halted a proposed data center, passing an ordinance to restrict where and how potential data centers are built, Wisconsin Public Radio reports.
On Monday, the Menomonie City Council amended its definition of the word “warehousing” so that it excluded data centers. Instead, it will create a data center district in its industrial zone.
The City Council said there is still work to do, citing the need to add light pollution, noise pollution, water usage and more to the ordinance.
State lawmakers have also been devising ways to regulate data centers, but Democrats and Republicans do not agree on how.
These bills cover items like energy costs, water usage and paying workers constructing data centers union wages.
And while Jefferson does not have a data center proposal, the city, located 45 minutes east of Madison, is set to amend its own zoning ordinance to prepare for the possibility.
