SALINE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The Saline Township Board voted Wednesday to maintain agricultural zoning for more than 500 acres slated for a massive AI data center, though developers say the project will proceed as planned under an existing consent judgment.
The board previously voted to rezone the property from A-1 agricultural to I-1 industrial “as ordered by the Washtenaw County Circuit Court” at a meeting on Jan.14.
The board’s decision to reverse its previous rezoning from agricultural to industrial use won’t impact the development, according to township attorney David Landry.
“Tonight was to correct that so that it is consistent with the consent judgment,” Landry said. “A court cannot order a municipal entity to zone any particular way.”
The $7 billion data center project, backed by Oracle and OpenAI, has faced significant community opposition since its proposal.
The development by Related Digital is planned for 575 acres of land north of Michigan Avenue, with about 2.2 million square feet dedicated to the facility.
The latest board decision effectively blocks residents from filing a referendum against the land use, frustrating community members who oppose the project.
“If they don’t legally have to update the map, and they don’t have to legally put the notice out for that property changing, no, we won’t be able to do a referendum,” said Tammie Bruneau with the Rural Michigan Defense Fund.
“What does it look like when residents are not able to determine what happens in their communities? What are we expected to do? Just shrug, shut up, and take it?” resident Kathryn Haushalter asked during the meeting.
Haushalter has filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the consent judgment.
Attorney Robby Dube of the law firm Eckland & Blando said the firm is waiting for a judge to determine whether it has the right to intervene in the case.
“I hope the power gets put back into the people’s hands and that we can decide what goes into our community and what doesn’t. The way it should be,” Haushalter said.
The project’s path forward was secured through a consent judgment negotiated between the township and developers in October 2025.
The agreement came after Related Digital sued the township following an initial September vote that denied rezoning the property.
Under the settlement terms, Related Digital committed $14 million to the community, including $4 million for farmland preservation, $2 million for community investment, and $8 million for fire services.
The agreement also includes environmental protections, requiring water conservation measures and noise limitations.
Related Digital maintains that claims about improper rezoning are “100% false,” stating that any rezoning would have required extensive public notice and hearings.
The company emphasized that Wednesday’s board action merely updated zoning maps to reflect the existing consent judgment.
Related Digital provided the following statement:
"We appreciate the Township this evening acted to properly update the zoning map to reflect the consent judgement, which approved the data center use for this property.
It is unfortunate that there was some misunderstanding around the process of updating the maps, but any attempts to claim that the property was rezoned by the Board, or that the Board intended to rezone the property, are 100% false.
A rezoning of any property would have required 15-day notice to the property owners, notice to the public, a notice of an agenda for rezoning, public hearings and more.
That’s not what occurred, and it’s truly a disservice to the community for some agitators and opponents of the project to spread false information about the legal status of this project.
The project is moving forward, and we look forward to the continued the cooperation of the Board."
Related Digital