KAUKAUNA — The Kaukauna Common Council on Tuesday is hoping to get out in front of the data issue with a proposed ordinance amendment that would require an extra layer of review if a data center would want to build in Kaukauna’s Industrial District.
Currently, the city has not been approached by any developers, but recently data center developer Cloverleaf said it had pulled its proposal for Greenleaf outside of Wrightstown following community backlash.
Residents will have a chance to speak at the common council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Services Building. (AGENDA)
The amendment would include additional restrictions including electric and water usage limits.
That would give the city the ability to thoroughly vet any requests to ensure that there are no negative impacts to the community, according to a city staff memo.
If structured correctly, data centers can bring significant tax revenue and infrastructure investment to a community, along with short-term construction jobs.
However, they can require large amounts of electricity, which Kaukauna Utilities cannot support at this time, along with large amounts of water for cooling.
