SALINE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Saline Township resident has taken legal action to stop the construction of a massive data center proposed for the area.
Kathryn Haushalter filed a motion to intervene in Washtenaw County Circuit Court on Dec. 13, challenging the township’s handling of the project approval.
The proposed data center, known as “Stargate,” is a $7 billion development planned by Related Digital for clients including Oracle and OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT.
If built, it would be the largest data center in the country, covering 2.2 million square feet on a 575-acre site in Saline Township, with an additional 476 acres in nearby Bridgewater Township.
The facility is expected to consume as much power as nearly one million homes.
Haushalter and other residents oppose the project, citing concerns about its impact on the farming community and environment.
She alleges that township officials violated Michigan’s Open Meetings Act by making decisions in secret and failing to hold public votes on the finalized consent judgment that allowed the project to move forward.
According to court documents filed by Haushalter’s attorneys, the township board voted in a closed session on Oct. 1 to settle a lawsuit filed by Related Digital and local landowners after the township initially denied rezoning requests for the project.
The closed session vote and subsequent signing of the consent judgment by only two board members, without further public approval, are claimed to be unlawful.
“Our township board had no right to vote secretly and usher in a predatory data center in the middle of our farmland community through unlawful rezoning,” Haushalter said. “We will now stand with the citizens of Saline Township and fight for our right to say no to this project. I will always defend the people and fight for what’s right.”
The legal challenge has garnered support from local activist groups such as Stop the Saline Data Center and the nonprofit Rural Michigan Defense Fund, which is collecting donations to support the effort.