Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Neighbors, residents, and others attended a community open house on a controversial data center project in Howell Monday this afternoon.

The Van Gilder Family held the event from 3 to 6pm at Cleary Commons at Cleary University in Genoa Township. It featured various representatives from DTE, the county, MHOG and others.

The proposed project is planned across several parcels east of Handy Township; spanning areas along Marr Road, Fleming Road, Warner Road, and Owosso Road. The land is currently zoned Agricultural Residential, Single Family Residential, and Neighborhood Service Commercial. A rezoning is being sought to RT – Research and Technology.

A project page – www.HowellDataCenter.com – states “Centered among 950 acres, the Howell Data Center represents the largest private investment in Livingston County's history; positioning a Fortune 100 company as the area’s largest taxpayer. This partnership would help expand the local tax base, creating new opportunities to fund schools, infrastructure, and essential community services”.

There was a large police presence on site for the community meeting, which was open-house style. To the irritation of some residents, all main entryways and doors were locked around the building, despite large welcome signs outside. Entry could be made through the back E-Sports area, but it was not marked.

There’s been a lot of opposition from residents and others with concerns about the water service area, increased industrial water usage and the drain/strain on the MHOG system and capacity; electricity demand and rates; the strain on infrastructure, roads and traffic; environmental impacts and the Red Cedar River watershed; run-off, flood risk, and erosion; increased truck and commuter traffic; and land use and zoning issues.

A DTE representative told WHMI they were not able to comment to the media and referred requests to the DTE media representative, who was not in attendance.

Livingston County Drain Commissioner Brian Jonckheere was among those available to chat with those in attendance. He told WHMI they really don’t know what the impact will be, as they have not yet seen any official proposal.

Jonckheere said what they see from other facilities and making assumptions from prior developments in Ohio in terms of footprint and the impact to drains is that a data center would certainly have far less impact than any residential development – which he said would have enormous impacts on their drains and don’t know how they would handle it. In this instance, if it’s a case of where they hold water on site and infiltrate into the ground, he feels there is the potential to improve the drainage system over and above where it is now.

Jonckheere added less water is better but again, they don’t know what the effect will be until they see a real proposal. He said they’re not worried about drying up but rather too much and flooding that results – specifically because the watershed is such low grade and they see flooding throughout a lot of the western Livingston County area in the Red Cedar watershed.

As to any clarifications, Jonckheere said he’s seen in discussions that people are confusing or merging drinking water and stormwater. He noted drinking water is presumably coming from an entirely different watershed in a different township – and “obviously there are concerns about that and should be”.

Jonckheere said stormwater generated in the area of the property actually heads west eventually to the Grand River, down the Mississippi, and into the Gulf of America. The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years but President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename it the Gulf of America. Jonckheere said water coming from in a watershed flows to the eastern Great Lakes and then out to the Atlantic by the St. Lawrence River. He stated they are talking about two completely separate watersheds, and a lot of people are using issues interchangeably between the drinking water use or “cooling water” and the stormwater – which in some ways are connected but different sources.

Jonckheere added the open house was also a learning process for them and they want to garner information. For those who grew up in the area, he said there’s a lot of concerns to be ironed out and they want to make sure those are addressed and aren’t going to be an issue. Jonckheere said thinks that has yet to come but certainly there are a lot of concerns and they welcome that information “just like everybody else”.


Some neighbors told WHMI the timing of the meeting was horrible and held during the day when farmers are working and couldn’t be there, and felt many others didn’t know it was even happening. They questioned why everyone just found out about the project three months ago, asserting it’s been in the planning stage for a long time. Neighbors further alleged that it’s all about money – stating “we don’t want or deserve this, this is country, we’ve been here all our lives and this is our home, they’re bringing technology here and we don’t want it”.

Others commented they felt the project is “a done deal” and a decision has already been made. One resident referenced the first lengthy Planning Commission meeting and said “everyone had a legitimate reason for it not to be here but it didn’t do any good, nobody cares, it’s all about money”.


Ryan Van Gilder with the homeowner family said the purpose of the event was to allow discussion and for people learn about this project specifically – not all data centers as a whole because they are not all the same. He stressed they’ve done a lot of work to create the best outcome as possible and thinks it is really a great project. Van Gilder added the hope is that people keep engaging in productive discussion.

The Van Gilder Family earlier issued the following community letter:

Neighbors,

For generations, our family has lived, farmed, and raised our children here in the community. This land isn’t just where we work, it’s where we’ve built our lives, where our children play, and where we hope our grandchildren will grow. When we were first approached about a data center, we didn’t take the conversation lightly. Selling a piece of our HOME farm was not something we ever imagined. But as we listened and learned, we came to see this as more than a project. It’s about the future of our community. We are living in a time of rapid change. Just as electricity, railroads, and the automobile transformed past generations, technology and data are shaping the world today. We believe this moment is nothing less than the Industrial Revolution of our time. We believe this project isn’t just about jobs or tax dollars. It’s about opening doors for the next generation: • A place where our children and grandchildren can find opportunity in technology and the trades without having to leave home. • Stronger schools with the resources to prepare students for those opportunities. • Local businesses that grow stronger as the community around them grows stronger. • A future where farming and technology work side by side, honoring tradition while embracing progress. We know change can be unsettling. We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we do believe our community deserves to have a seat at the table in shaping what comes next. As farmers, we’ve always planted seeds for tomorrow. This project is another kind of planting, an investment in the kind of community we leave behind.

With gratitude and hope for the future,
The Van Gilder Family

A link to the project page is provided.