Datacenters Done Right – The Story of the Benton Charter Township Datacenter Ordinance

Benton Charter Township is well known as a peaceful, rural community in the southwest corner of Eaton County, Michigan. Home to 5,400 residents, it contains the quaint sleeper community of the City of Potterville, the beautiful Fox Park pond and trails, countless acres of rolling farmland and is next-door neighbors with the City of Charlotte.  Up the road a ways lies the bustling Megalopolis of Lansing, Okemos and East Lansing. Our township is quiet and serene, and that is precisely its charm - that is why we choose to live here. 

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When the Datacenter drama in Saline Township unfolded recently, the citizens of Benton Charter Township took notice. Saline township and Benton Charter Township have much in common - they are both rural, have a small population, and a community-driven style of governance. When an extremely well-financed, legislatively savvy Developer swooped in and demanded a large chunk of land on which to construct a Datacenter, the zoning commission of Saline simply said "no". However, that was not the end of the matter – in fact it was just the beginning. The Developer immediately filed suit in court and inundated Saline with intimidating legal tactics. The Saline governance was unable to withstand this legal challenge and folded. Construction of a new Saline Datacenter, much to the dismay of the citizenry, is underway and permanently threatens the ambience of what was once a charming community.

 

Witnessing these events unfold, the citizens of Benton Township, and other neighboring communities asked themselves "Could what happened in Saline also happen in our township?". The answer is a sobering yes - it could happen here, and possibly even worse. Saline was caught unaware - blindsided, if you will, and was unable to reasonably withstand the sudden onslaught.   What happened in Saline could have been largely prevented with just a bit of proactive planning. One does not have to be anti-industry or anti-Datacenter to appreciate the fact that there is a right way, and a wrong way to do zoning planning. A "head in the sand" approach is never the right way – this puts you at the mercy of Developers who have the backing of deep legal pockets and no concern whatsoever for the ambience of a rural community. If any community has not yet performed due diligence, taken an anticipatory approach, and selected those conditions under which a datacenter can peacefully coexist within their rural environment, then the Datacenter industry will grab that land by any means necessary to suit its needs. 

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On February 9, 2026, the Board of Benton Charter Township took the commendable first step of imposing a temporary moratorium on the development of Datacenters. This foresight will give our blossoming township enough breathing room to thoughtfully assemble the appropriate expertise to ensure that any datacenter activity will not be reactive, but proactive. In the next part of this story, we will describe the Benton Township Datacenter Ordinance as it takes shape.