Data centers are being planned and built faster than almost any land use in recent memory, and Michigan sits squarely in the path. State incentives including sales and use tax exemptions passed in 2024 (PA 181 and 182) have put Michigan on developers’ short lists, which means more communities will field applications whether or not they feel ready.

Many communities are scrambling to develop ordinance provisions to govern data center applications, including regulations around district permissions, site standards, environmental and health impacts, decommissioning planning, and more. More than 50 Michigan municipalities have adopted moratoria on data center development while they study the impacts on water, electricity, and community well-being, while construction on a 1.4-gigawatt Oracle and OpenAI facility has broken ground in Saline Township, and numerous other facilities are actively seeking approvals.

Things are moving quickly, and for local officials trying to wrap their heads around this high-stakes land use, there are countless questions that need answering. Where should these facilities be permitted? How much power and water will they draw, and who pays for the supporting infrastructure? How much leverage do we have to request investment in community benefits? What happens to the site when the equipment becomes obsolete?

These concerns deserve careful, community-specific analysis rather than assumptions; that is the work our team at McKenna set out to get ahead of.

We knew we needed to act fast to serve the best interests of our communities, and at McKenna, our planners are accustomed to tackling some of the most complex challenges facing communities today. We immediately formed a Data Centers Working Group, composed of planners of all levels. The focus of this Group is to understand best practices and common pitfalls when regulating data centers – whether communities are seeking to invite or limit their development – and to develop model ordinances and master plan language for communities to adapt to their unique context and priorities. This research has allowed us to collaborate with countless clients to develop policies that match up with their economic, environmental, and community priorities, and to support them in navigating active applications.

And we’re eager to share our thought leadership with our peers. Last month, a team of McKenna planners led a training session for municipal leaders on Planning for Data Centers at the St. Clair County Metropolitan Planning Commission’s Spring Workshop. Recently, Principal Planner Kyle Mucha, AICP, and Associate Planner Maria Garcia Reyna contributed articles to the May/June 2026 issue of the Michigan Association of Planning’s Michigan Planner to discuss how planners can critically assess data center proposals and advocate for the sensible use of AI. Wherever we can, we are readying our entire profession for this new land use.

We are committed to understanding new technologies and developing strong and fair local policies to protect the public and to promote our clients’ best interests.

If your community is fielding a data center application, or simply wants to be ready before one arrives, our Data Centers Working Group can help you put sound ordinance language in place. Reach out to start the conversation.