WILMINGTON, Clinton County — The Wilmington City Council approved a rezoning request for 500 acres of land Friday night, clearing the way for the data center development.
The council reached a five-to-two decision in favor of the rezoning after holding multiple public meetings on the proposal.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the newly approved property is designated for Ardent Technologies and is located in Wilmington.
This approval follows a previous 500-acre rezoning for a proposed Amazon data center, which means nearly 1,000 total acres in Wilmington are now slated for data center development.
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Some council members expressed reservations about the speed of the development and the lack of a state-level framework for such projects.
Josh Schlabach, a member of the Wilmington City Council, suggested that the city should wait for additional information before moving forward.
“Hesitations, I would be in favor of pausing this rezoning request until we have more guidance from the state level,” Schlabach said.
Council member Michael Snarr also voiced concerns regarding the current regulations governing these types of facilities.
“I believe we need to slow down this process,” Snarr said. “Maybe we need to consider reworking the code regarding data center.”
Supporters of the rezoning argued that the project is necessary for the economic health of the community.
The idea for the majority of the council and some residents was that rejecting the request would lead to stagnant growth for the city.
Brad Day, a Wilmington resident who spoke at the meeting, questioned the consequences of delaying development.
“The question I have is simple, if we’re not going to grow now, when will we?” Day said.
The decision has faced significant pushback from community members who are concerned about the large-scale conversion of land.
Jessica Sharp, a Wilmington resident, said that opponents of the project intend to keep up their efforts to block the data centers.
“Regardless of the outcome tonight, it’s still not over,” Sharp said.
Opponents of the council’s decision are already preparing a legal challenge to the rezoning.
“We’re planning to start a ballot referendum, basically as soon as we can get the ordinance certified tomorrow,” Sharp said.
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