Port preps for massive data center complex

Faced with the prospect of a massive data complex that would significantly impact the community, Port Washington officials are working to put into place rules and regulations to govern a facility that will reshape the city and town.

Mayor Ted Neitzke said Tuesday that while he does not expect the city will know who the ultimate user of the proposed hyperscale data center complex until the middle of spring or summer or see plans for the facility until then, officials are working now to create a zoning code to regulate a data center and put in place a plan to extend sewer and water services into the Town of Port.

“We’re beginning to assess what other things we need to look at,” Neitzke added.

The goal, he said, is for the city to be prepared when plans for the data center are presented — something that could happen quickly once the end user of the site is announced.

While residents have complained about a lack of specifics for the project, Neitzke stressed that the city doesn’t have them yet.

“It’s a slow process,” he said. “There will be public hearings every step of the way, and I know I will likely have a public forum once we know more about this. The scale of this project is so massive it can’t happen overnight or be done in secret.

“I wish I would wake up and there would be a trifold sitting there and it would lay everything out. That’s not how it works.”

The data center has been proposed by Cloverleaf Infrastructure, a Houston-based company that works to assemble the land and permits for this type of campus and then sells the project to a tech company to build and operate. The center, which would consist of multiple buildings on as many as 2,000 acres that are in the Town of Port but would be annexed into the city, would require a gigawatt of power — enough to power about 750,000 homes.

Neitzke said he anticipates the property owners will seek annexation en masse at some point, adding he does not “have an inking” of who that end user will be, although Cloverleaf has suggested it could be a tech giant.

“I don’t think we’ll know until they (Cloverleaf and the company) are close to an agreement,” he said. “That’s their business at this point.”

Last month Neitzke directed Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, to work on creating a zoning code proposal for the Plan Commission to consider in February and forward to the Common Council in March.

“We’re going to put as many things as we can into the zoning code,” Neitzke said, adding officials are looking at codes from other areas of the state and country to take the best ideas they can to incorporate into Port’s code.

They are also looking at what can be included in the code, he said, noting that while the city will seek regulations regarding noise and light pollution, officials don’t know if those are items that can be included in the zoning code.

If they can’t be, Neitzke said, officials will look to negotiate these as part of a developer’s agreement for the site.

The city is also looking at the best way to extend utilities not only to the 2,000-acre site for the data center — land located north of the city boundaries to Dixie Road and between the Ozaukee Interurban Trail and I-43 — but also Knellsville and areas along Highway LL that are ripe for development, Neitzke said.

The city has already approved plans for several subdivisions in the area, but those plans have been stymied by high interest rates and the cost of extending utilities, he said.

While Neitzke has said the city would consider using a pay-as-you-go tax incremental financing district to finance utility extensions, he said it isn’t a given that a TIF district is needed.

“If we can avoid it, we will negotiate to avoid it,” he said when asked if the city would seek to have the developer pay these costs directly. “Every end user approaches it differently, and it really depends on the company’s philosophy.”

Regardless, Neitzke said, the city is also starting to lay the groundwork for a TIF district, adding that this won’t move forward until “we get a clear indication from Cloverleaf about their timeline.”

No matter what, he stressed, the city will ensure that there will be no cost to residents. However, a TIF district could keep taxpayers from reaping the benefits of the increased tax base for decades.

Putting the cost on city residents “would be a real deal breaker,” Neitzke said.

Officials are also looking at what they will include in a developer’s agreement, Neitzke said, adding this will likely include not only infrastructure items but also requirements to minimize noise and light pollution and to make the center aesthetically pleasing.

“A lot of those things we’re going to be very proactive about. A lot can be mitigated with the zoning code and developer’s agreement,” Neitzke said. “We are looking at how do we keep that as rural looking as possible and practical.

“I will be advocating for a forest out there. I’m envisioning that corridor down the interstate where you aren’t going to see that campus when you drive by.”

Town residents who live near the proposed data center and have been attending city meetings on the proposed campus, will likely hold the city’s feet to the fire along the way.

Amanda Mueller, who lives on Lilac Lane near the proposed data center, said she spent the weekend knocking on doors to talk to her neighbors about the impact of the data center and try to mobilize them to seek concessions that will mitigate potential problems, adding she was shocked that about half of them didn’t know anything about the project.

“Unfortunately the Town of Port is taking all the hits,” she said, noting city residents will be insulated from issues because they are farther away from the data center. “This is real. This is happening, and this is now. We’re in harm’s way.

“I’m waiting for the buyer to announce themselves. Until the building plans are shown, we’re really stuck in limbo. No one knows what all the ramifications are. That’s what scares me.”

She’s hoping the city will require impact studies that will slow progress and ensure every potential impact is taken into consideration, and that the city will consider giving those town residents most impacted a tax break or reparations to make up for what she believes will be a loss in value of their property and problems down  the road.

“It’ll soften the blow,” Mueller said. “If you want anything, you have to ask for it. You have to say we’re going to fight for what’s ours. We’re the ones who have to live with this every day. All we can do is fight or we’ll lose everything.”