Madison mayor to propose moratorium on data center construction

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and 10 City Council members are moving ahead with a possible year-long moratorium on zoning certificates for data centers, Isthmus reports.

The proposal will be introduced by the mayor at Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting.

Rhodes-Conway said the city doesn’t have a “defined use of ‘data center’” in Madison’s zoning code.

Madison would be the largest city to adopt such a moratorium. The length could be shorter if Madison enacts a zoning ordinance to address data center properties.

Rhodes-Conway said land use and sustainability are major concerns.

Data centers have courted much controversy in Wisconsin.