Big Rapids Township, in Mecosta County, Michigan, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on December 1, 2025. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
The record reads: "Big Rapids Township passed an ordinance banning data centers in its 120-acre airport industrial park, part of a wave of at least 27 Michigan communities enacting moratoria or zoning restrictions on data center development amid concerns… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | enacted | December 1, 2025 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Mecosta County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Elsewhere in Mecosta County
Michigan context
Michigan has 88 documented local actions across 84 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, Consumers Energy territory has a large-load tariff (enacted, November 6, 2025).
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.