Microsoft Data Center Vote Put On Hold as Residents Question Contract Terms

*GAINES TOWNSHIP, Mich.* — The Gaines Township Planning Commission voted Wednesday night to delay its decision on Microsoft's proposed data center campus near Caledonia, sending the project back into a holding pattern with no set timeline for what comes next.

The vote means the commission will continue reviewing the proposal before deciding whether to forward it to the Gaines Charter Township Board with a recommendation to approve or deny the rezoning request.

The township's attorney told News Channel 3 it remains unclear whether another special meeting will be scheduled or whether the item will appear on an upcoming regular meeting agenda.

Wednesday's public hearing was held at the South Christian High School auditorium because of the expected turnout. The larger venue was filled with hundreds of residents, many of whom opposed the project.

Microsoft is asking the township to rezone five parcels totaling nearly 104 acres along Patterson Avenue SE and 76th Street SE from their current designations to Light Industrial, for use as a data center campus.