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The Data Center Divide

Sawyer County

This restriction takes precedence while in effect. The rating below excludes temporary restrictions.

Pro-Data Center Policies

Sawyer County blocks applications and permits for covered data centers and related infrastructure during an 18-month moratorium, unless it is changed sooner; this is not a permanent ban.

Rating from Wisconsin statewide as there are no scored current or future laws outside temporary restrictions for Sawyer County.

Specific to Sawyer County only.

current law · Unincorporated areas
Sawyer County adopts the Data Center and Associated Infrastructure Moratorium Ordinance at its August 20, 2026 meeting; the adoption motion carries without negative vote.Sawyer County Resolution No. 2026-31 — Amendment to Sawyer County Ordinances: Data Center and Associated Infrastructure Moratorium

What this means

The moratorium blocks applications and permits for covered data centers and associated infrastructure, making new development substantially harder during the pause. It lasts eighteen months unless changed sooner, rather than imposing a permanent prohibition.

Timing

Ends
18 months after adoption and publication; it automatically terminates when permanent zoning regulations take effect, unless otherwise determined by the County Board.

It may be sooner repealed, modified, superseded, or replaced. The County Board may amend the moratorium as permitted by Wisconsin law.

People behind it

  • Approves adoption of the moratorium ordinance.

  • Votes to begin the process of enacting an eighteen-month moratorium.

  • Zoning Administrator who works on drafting language in consultation with county legal counsel.

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  • Directed to research and draft comprehensive regulations during the moratorium.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements3

  • Bars acceptance of applications to construct or operate data centers and associated infrastructure and consideration or issuance of zoning permits, building permits, conditional-use permits and zoning approvals.

  • Covers infrastructure reasonably necessary for construction, operation, maintenance, expansion or decommissioning, including electrical, backup-power, cooling, water, wastewater, fiber, security and access facilities.

  • Does not authorize any otherwise prohibited use.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions3

  • Exempts routine maintenance or repair of existing legally established facilities.

  • Exempts qualifying accessory server rooms or equipment, governmental public-safety communications facilities, and utilities not solely or primarily serving a proposed data center.

  • Limits the moratorium to eighteen months unless changed sooner and automatically terminates it upon permanent regulations unless the Board determines otherwise.

Sources

pending · Unincorporated areas
Defines a data center as a facility housing computing, storage, networking, and related infrastructure, adding the definition as [Appendix D, Section 2.0(23)](https://sawyercowi.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=11000,plainText=false).Sawyer County Proposed Data Center Ordinance Amendment — Appendix D, Sections 2.0(23) and 17.7(B)

What this means

The proposal would expressly allow data centers in I-1 industrial zones through a conditional use permit, creating a clearer route to approval. But it requires at least [160 contiguous acres](https://sawyercowi.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=11000,plainText=false#:~:text=at%20least%20160%20acres%20of%20contiguous%20land) and bars them in the Shoreline District, which meaningfully limits suitable sites.

Timing

Ends
An additional six months following the effective date of the extension ordinance, or when the Sawyer County Board of Supervisors makes a final decision on regulating solar energy systems and battery energy storage systems, whichever occurs earlier.

The original moratorium lasted nine months or until a related ordinance took effect, whichever occurred earlier. The proposed amendment extends it for an additional six months, subject to the earlier final-decision condition. The materials do not state the extension ordinance's effective date.

People behind it

  • Applicants requesting the rezoning of approximately 5.28 acres from A-1 Agricultural One to RR-2 Residential/Recreational Two in RZN 26-007.

  • Co-applicant and property owner requesting the rezoning in RZN 26-007.

  • Reviewed and recommended the rezoning and proposed amendments concerning apartments, data centers, solar energy systems, and the solar-energy moratorium extension.

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  • Body responsible for adopting the rezoning, zoning-ordinance amendments, solar-energy measures, moratorium extension, and related resolutions.

  • Directed to administer and complete the adopted zoning amendments, develop the solar-energy regulations, and take necessary implementation actions.

  • Proposed and recommended the Meadowbrook public-safety radio tower upgrade resolution.

  • Recommended the Meadowbrook public-safety radio tower upgrade resolution and its financing.

  • Authorized to enter the contracts necessary to implement the Meadowbrook public-safety radio tower project.

  • Named as the committee-level recommending authority for the zoning and solar-related resolutions.

  • Signed or recommended the zoning, solar-energy, and solar-moratorium measures on behalf of the committee.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements8

  • Data centers are not allowed by right; they may operate only as a conditional use in the I-1 Industrial-One District, requiring County Zoning Committee approval and a Conditional Use Permit. Data Center ... Uses authorized by Conditional Use

  • A proposed data center must be located on at least 160 acres of contiguous land. at least 160 acres of contiguous land

  • Data centers are prohibited within the Shoreland District. prohibited within the Shoreline District

  • A conditional-use application requires review by the Zoning Committee, which must hold a public hearing within 60 days after filing; the application may also require additional information beyond the land-use-permit requirements. schedule a public hearing ... within 60 days

  • Conditional-use approval expires 12 months after approval if the conditional-use permit has not been obtained, and the permit must be obtained before the use begins. approval ... shall expire twelve (12) months

  • A data center must obtain a land-use permit before development or construction begins, and the County cannot issue a permit for a structure or use that does not conform to the ordinance. a permit shall be obtained ... before any new development is initiated

  • Data-center buildings must comply with I-1 dimensional limits, including a 60-foot maximum building height, 50-foot front and rear setbacks, a 20-foot side setback for principal buildings, and a 10-foot side setback for accessory buildings. Building Height Limit

  • Conditional-use permits may include site-specific conditions, and the Zoning Committee may terminate a permit if the approved use no longer conforms to those conditions. terminated by action of the Zoning Committee

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions1

  • The amendment expressly authorizes a data center as a conditional use in the Industrial-One (I-1) district, allowing it to be developed through the conditional-use-permit process rather than treating it as an unlisted industrial use. The project must be on at least 160 contiguous acres and is prohibited within the Shoreland District. The measure identifies the acreage requirement as supporting separation from residences, electrical substations and transmission interconnections, utility corridors, stormwater and groundwater protections, emergency access, security, screening, and adequate setbacks. Data Center; provided that there are at least 160 acres of contiguous land

Sources

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