Wausau, in Marathon County, Wisconsin, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on July 14, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
The record reads: "City Council approved a first-of-its-kind data center zoning ordinance for Wausau: restricts data centers to medium/heavy-industrial zones (none permitted by right), requires a conditional use permit with water/power/noise/light review by… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | enacted | July 14, 2026 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Marathon County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Wisconsin context
Wisconsin has 36 documented local actions across 31 jurisdictions in this snapshot. There is no statewide restriction, incentive rollback, or large-load tariff on record for Wisconsin in this snapshot.
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.