Overview:
- Washington Township postpones Prologis' data center zoning request to June 11.
- Township officials directed he planning commission to review zoning ordinances for data centers and large industrial uses.
- The proposed facility would cover 312 acres on 32 Mile Road between M-53 and Powell Road.
By SOPHIA LADA
The Macomb Daily
March 11, 2026
A rezoning request for a controversial proposed data center in Washington Township has been postponed yet again to the June 11 meeting as the planning commission considers zoning ordinance amendments related to these types of facilities.
Previously, the item was postponed from the Jan. 8 meeting to the Feb. 12 session, and then again from the Feb. 12 session to the April 9 session. This time, the reason cited for postponement is Washington Township “moving towards an amendment to the zoning ordinance for data centers,” according to a letter from Prologis, the potential data center site developer in Washington Township.
At the Feb. 4 Washington Township Board of Trustees meeting, officials voted to direct the planning commission to review the township’s zoning ordinances as they relate to data centers and other large-scale industrial uses.
According to a memo from Kayla Mauldin, a senior planner with Spalding DeDecker, the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act prohibits municipalities from “totally prohibiting the establishment of a land use within a local unit of government in the presence of a demonstrated need for that land use.”
The memo details that while the township may not be able to completely prohibit large-scale industrial uses, it can still place reasonable restrictions on the location and the manner of those uses.
If the planning commission decides that amendments to the township’s zoning ordinances are needed, they can reach out to planning staff or consultants to being drafting amendments. The process is as follows:
- An amendment request is initiated by the township’s board or planning commission
- Proposed amendments are researched and drafted
- A public hearing is held by the planning commission regarding the proposed amendments
- The planning commission’s findings and recommendation are submitted to the board of trustees
- The board considers and can make a motion on the proposed amendments
The request from the board is on the planning commission’s agenda for its Thursday meeting.
During the Feb. 4 board of trustees meeting, Washington Township attorney Robert Seibert said there have been many instances where municipalities don’t take the proper steps in situations like this to amend their ordinances and it often ends with them being sued. Doing it the right way, though, Seibert said makes the ordinances “bulletproof.”
“As these new users come in, that there is the strong possibility that there’s going to be litigation. The litigation could come from the developer, it could come from aggrieved parties who may surround the property. The best way for the township to protect the residents is to make sure that you have crossed your T’s and dotted your I’s on the procedure,” Seibert said. “If you play by the rules and you have adequate procedure, when you walk into a courtroom you are 10 times in a better position than you will be if you just do a knee jerk reaction.”
As Seibert shared information about the proper process to follow involving the planning commission at the Feb. 4 meeting, one woman at the meeting, who identified herself as “Valerie” during public comment, continually interrupted Seibert, yelling things like, “we the people are the government,” and holding up both of her hands making an obscene gesture with each hand toward the board table.
Prologis submitted a conditional rezoning application for the development of a technical campus and data center on over 312 acres of land in November, according to Washington Township officials, but withdrew those earlier this month. The land, which includes four parcels, is on the south side of 32 Mile Road, between M-53 and Powell Road.
Prologis is now asking for a straight rezoning of the property ― making it an Industrial – Research – Technology zoning district that allows for industrial and research facilities. Mark Hosfeld, a representative of Prologis, said at a Dec. 11 township Planning Commission meeting that after the rezoning is approved, the company would have to ask for a “special land use” if it wants to build a data center.
A data center is a building or group of buildings that house essential infrastructure including servers that process and store data, according to information in the Dec. 11 planning commission agenda packet. These types of facilities are used for e-commerce, healthcare, national security systems and a range of other industries, according to operators.
Prologis offered site-specific conditions as part of their petition. The commission did not make a recommendation to the township board at the Dec. 11 session.
The proposal also includes a reversion clause, which means if the development is not completed within five years of the site plan approval, the property would revert back to its original industrial and agricultural residential zoning.
The proposed 32 Mile Road Technical Campus in Washington Township would be situated on 312 acres of land. A project that recently reached a settlement in Saline Township in Washtenaw County was a 575-acre site, with 325 acres being reserved for open space. A proposed data center campus in Howell calls for a 950-acre site.
The agenda packet also states there is a demand for data centers due to a rapid growth in artificial intelligence technologies. The site is also surrounded by existing industrial uses like the Romeo State Airport while the former Romeo Ford Plant is nearby.
The property also provides green space between the site of the data center buildings and adjacent uses, like residential developments, on Powell and 31 Mile roads.
Info in the planning commission packet also claims the project is not expected to raise water or sewer rates. In fact, adding additional users to split the costs of existing water and sewer services helps to manage the rates for current service recipients, petitioners asserted.
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