KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Monday night, the Kalamazoo City Commission voted to approve a resolution that culminates in a one-year moratorium on data centers in the city.
Tuesday, FOX 17 asked Kalamazoo neighbors for their thoughts downtown.
“When you hear that the city of Kalamazoo says no data centers in the city for a year, what do you think?" Julie Dunmire asked.
“I think, no data centers ever. Why put a cap on it? I don’t want a data center in my area, ever,” Susan Bache replied.
Data centers, and moratoriums on them, have impacted multiple West Michigan communities in the last year.
Travis Stoliker, a Lansing-area entrepreneur, helped build data centers in the Lansing area around two decades ago. FOX 17 spoke with him for insight.
"Data centers, you’ve said — have always been part of our communities. Why are we seeing more conversation about them now?" Julie Dunmire asked.
WATCH: Kalamazoo City Commission votes in favor of data center pause
“I would think the first piece is there’s a bit of anxiety that people have about what is happening with artificial intelligence. People are fearful that their job is going to be taken by AI,” Stoliker replied.
“We need data centers because we are all using the internet more. Literally everything you do online, whether you recognize it or not, is being powered by a data center,” Stoliker continued.
Neighbors that FOX 17 spoke with in Kalamazoo said they'd give up things like social media if it would make a difference in a data center coming to their backyard.
"Would you say, hey, I’m done using Facebook?" Julie asked
“Yeah. I said that a long time ago," Bache replied.
