Groveland Township MI one-year data center moratorium (2026)
Groveland Township, Michigan — Board of Trustees Votes 5-0 to Enact a Temporary One-Year Data Center Moratorium in February 2026, Pausing Expansion Into Rural Areas, Followed by a Local Committee Impact Study
Groveland Township, MI · Groveland Township, Mich. — temporary one-year data center moratorium (enacted 5-0, February 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Expires
- February 1, 2027
- Applies to
- Developers seeking data center approvals in Groveland Township during the one-year moratorium
- Enforced by
- Groveland Township Board of Trustees / township zoning administration
The Groveland Township Board of Trustees voted 5-0 in FEBRUARY 2026 to enact a temporary ONE-YEAR moratorium on data centers, pausing their expansion into rural areas. A local committee later delivered a data center impact study, which is the follow-through most moratoriums promise and comparatively few are shown to complete. The date is what makes this entry worth having. February 2026 is early. The overwhelming majority of local measures in this dataset were adopted between June and September 2026, during a wave that followed a summer of proposals, packed hearings and state-level action. Groveland Township acted months before that, when data center moratoriums were still unusual rather than routine — and it did so unanimously, in a rural township in Oakland County, Michigan. Recording early adopters matters for reading the rest of the dataset correctly: a jurisdiction that paused in February was not following a trend, and the reasons it gave are less likely to be borrowed from a neighbouring council's template. It also means Groveland's moratorium is among the first in this dataset due to EXPIRE — a one-year term from February 2026 runs out in February 2027 — so the operative question for this township is now whether permanent regulations emerged from the impact study before the pause lapses.
Who is protected: Groveland Township residents in Oakland County, Michigan, particularly in rural areas
Legal detail
Groveland Township, Mich. (Oakland County) — TEMPORARY ONE-YEAR MORATORIUM on data centers, enacted by a 5-0 vote of the Board of Trustees in FEBRUARY 2026, pausing data center expansion into rural areas. FOLLOW-THROUGH: a LOCAL COMMITTEE subsequently DELIVERED A DATA CENTER IMPACT STUDY \u2014 the deliverable most moratoriums in this dataset promise and few are documented as producing. THE ADOPTION DATE IS THE ANALYTICALLY SIGNIFICANT FACT. The overwhelming majority of local instruments indexed here were adopted between JUNE and SEPTEMBER 2026, in a wave that followed statewide action (NY Hochul EO — Statewide Data Center Moratorium (2026) in July, Pennsylvania EO 2026-05 data center restrictions (2026) in August), a summer of packed hearings and heavy syndicated coverage. Groveland Township acted in FEBRUARY, months ahead of that wave, when a municipal data center moratorium was still an unusual instrument rather than a template circulating between councils. EARLY ADOPTERS SHOULD BE READ DIFFERENTLY from wave participants: their stated rationales are less likely to be borrowed, and their drafting reflects local analysis rather than a neighbouring jurisdiction's ordinance. EXPIRY CONSEQUENCE: a one-year term from February 2026 lapses in FEBRUARY 2027, placing Groveland among the EARLIEST MORATORIUMS IN THIS DATASET TO EXPIRE. The operative question is therefore whether permanent regulations emerged from the committee's impact study before the pause ends \u2014 the transition this dataset documents at Clearcreek Township OH one-year data center permit moratorium (2026), which records Dayton converting a 180-day April 2026 pause into a permanent June 2026 zoning prohibition. MICHIGAN COHORT: Garfield Township MI data center and crypto mining ban (2026), Corunna MI data center zoning ordinance (2026), East Lansing MI data center moratorium extension (2026), Ypsilanti Township MI electric utility infrastructure moratorium (2026), Utica MI data center moratorium extension (2026), Marshall MI one-year data center moratorium (2026) and Raeden v. Gibraltar MI data center moratorium challenge (2026).
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Groveland Township, MI |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | February 1, 2026 |
| Citation | Groveland Township, Mich. — temporary one-year data center moratorium (enacted 5-0, February 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data center approvals are paused for the one-year term |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| News report | Local committee delivers Data Center impact study — The Citizen |
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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