Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Lyon Township residents continue to pack their municipal meetings, urging officials to reject a planned data center there. It was another marathon public comment session during Monday night's Planning Commission meeting.

“I moved to the country because I wanted to live in a peaceful place, and so far it is becoming not peaceful,” one woman told the panel, responsible for granting initial approval to the what’s known as Project Flex, a six-building data center spanning 1.8 million square feet along Grand River Avenue.

It would include a utility substation and is being developed by California-based Verrus and local property owner and general contractor Walbridge.

Aside from environmental, water and energy use, traffic, noise and other concerns, residents are upset Verrus' legal team sent a letter demanding the planning committee make a decision at the June 8 meeting.

Township officials said a decision was never planned, and it has several weeks to review before taking action.

The Project Flex website states the development plans to provide thousands of construction-related jobs over several years of building and 210 permanent jobs upon completion.

Among the speakers, state Sen. Jim Runestad, who has proposed a one-year moratorium on all data center project across Michigan.

“This is not in opposition to innovation or economic growth. I support responsible development. But what is happening here in Michigan and in Lyon Township is not responsible. It is rushed, opaque and dismissive of the very people this project will most directly affect,” he said.

Walbridge shared the following statement with media outlets:

"Walbridge is confident – and our experience with many similar projects has shown – that the data center project will be a positive addition to the Lyon Township community with minimal disruption. Responsible data center development, subject to Michigan’s regulations and guardrails, can help to fund or accelerate improvements that benefit residents, including lasting job opportunities across sectors. Walbridge remains committed to pursuing this important project, which will generate millions in tax revenue while using significantly less water than previous generations of data centers and generating no more noise than your standard office building."