With communities across Michigan fighting back against data centers, Bay City is looking to get ahead of the curve and implement local regulations.
As of right now, Bay City hasn't had any proposals for a data center. But that isn't stopping the city commission from looking into them and discussing how to handle their potential arrival.
This was one of the topics of the commission's first meeting of 2026 on Monday, Jan. 5. Commissioners and residents discussed how the buildings could effect the community, including the water and electricity usage it takes to run one.
Commissioner Joseph Charlebois noted that while water isn't as much of a worry for the area, other effects of a data center could be.
"What we don't have is grid capacity. My understanding is we don't even have enough to charge electric cars. So, that could really be a problem," Charlebois said at the meeting.
One commissioner, Benjamin Tenney, stated his worry about encouraging AI use in general.
"I worry about a generation of folks walking around devoid of original thought and critical thinking being a thing of the past and destroying art and creativity," Tenney said. "But when I look this over, you know, this is a pretty comprehensive thing. The thing that I really love about it is it calls for public engagement. At the end of the day, we represent you all."
In recent months, Michigan communities have been fighting back against building data centers across the state. People in places like Howell and Saline have held protests and spoken up at town hall meetings to try and stop data center proposals.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has also come out and declared that the centers could bring an 'economic catastrophe' to the state, noting the risk of heightened electric rates.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has stood in support of bringing the centers to the state, calling them the future of America and stating the projects will be done in a way to protect the environment, not effect the electric grid or prices, and will bring jobs to the region.
The Bay City commission voted unanimously to begin exploring and drafting local regulations to prepare for any potential data center proposals.
