Delhi Township board votes tonight on opposing a $10 billion data center that LEAP floated without telling it

HOLT — Delhi Township’s board of trustees meets in a special session at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, to vote on formally opposing any data center in the township, days after a regional economic development group unveiled plans for one there without first telling township leaders.

The meeting is at the Sam Corey Senior Center, 2108 Cedar St. in Holt, WKAR reported.

“The Delhi Charter Township Board of Trustees hereby voices its official opposition to any data center development in the Township,” the proposed resolution reads, according to WKAR. It also calls on the Lansing Economic Area Partnership and its partner, Lighthouse Sustainability, “to be true to their word and immediately cease all efforts regarding a data center proposal in Delhi Township due to the overwhelming amount of negative public input received.”

What was proposed

LEAP and Lighthouse, a private company based in Colorado, announced Tuesday, Oct. 27, that they would explore a data center of up to 700 megawatts on a 423-acre site off College Road, the Holt Economic Opportunity Park, Lansing City Pulse reported. Reports have put the investment at more than $10 billion. Lighthouse co-founder Gary Dorris described plans for six hours of battery storage, closed-loop cooling, about 90 acres set aside for nature, a $20 million community fund and free rooftop solar and storage for Ingham County residents, WKAR reported.

The pitch came with big tax numbers. If built, the project would more than triple the township’s tax revenue, from $23 million a year to $76 million, and add an estimated $16 million a year for Holt and Mason public schools, City Pulse reported. That $53 million jump matches the annual revenue figure Dorris cited.

The site is not zoned for industrial use, so a rezoning application would be needed for the project to move ahead, according to City Pulse. LEAP has not named an end user.

Township says it was left out

Township Manager Tracy Miller said Tuesday that Delhi learned of the announcement “at the same time as members of the media,” and that the board had received no land use application or proposal from any data center developer. On Wednesday, the township ended its LEAP membership. “This decision reflects our Township’s commitment to putting our residents first, protecting local interests and ensuring we are always guided by what’s in the best interests of our community,” Miller said.

LEAP said in an unsigned statement that going to the public first was intentional, to avoid putting officials in “an untenable position” of pitching the plan to residents, City Pulse reported. LEAP planned a six-month community engagement campaign, including weekly webinars, before the township’s data center moratorium ends.

What happens next

The township is already under a 12-month moratorium on data center proposals that runs through April 2027. Friday’s resolution would put the board on record against data centers, Michigan Public reported.

Lighthouse has asked the township to hold off. The company asked Delhi “to hit the brakes on officially taking a stance” against the data center, the Lansing State Journal reported Friday.

Delhi is not the first Lansing-area community to push back. A 24-megawatt data center pitched for downtown Lansing by U.K.-based Deep Green fell flat after local backlash, and a proposal for Vevay Township is before the State Boundary Commission, City Pulse reported.

Sources:
WKAR Public Media, “Delhi Township Board to consider opposing data centers tonight,” Oct. 30, 2026 (meeting time and place, moratorium, resolution), https://www.wkar.org/wkar-news/2026-10-30/delhi-township-board-to-consider-opposing-data-centers-tonight
Michigan Public / WKAR, “Delhi Township trustees to vote on opposing new data center,” Oct. 28, 2026 (resolution text, LEAP membership ended, Miller statements, project details), https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-10-28/delhi-township-trustees-to-vote-on-opposing-new-data-center
Lansing City Pulse, “Delhi Township considering data center resolution days after proposal made public,” Oct. 30, 2026 (site, zoning, tax and school revenue estimates, LEAP statement, other area proposals), https://lansingcitypulse.com/delhi-township-considering-data-center-resolution-days-after-proposal-made-public/
Lansing State Journal, “Firm asks Delhi Township to delay vote opposing data center proposal,” Oct. 30, 2026 (delay request), https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2026/10/30/firm-asks-delhi-township-to-delay-vote-opposing-data-center-proposal/92512092007/
Photo: Dj1997, “Delhi Charter Township, Michigan Entrance Sign.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Delhi_Charter_Township,_Michigan_Entrance_Sign.jpg

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Tags: Lansing · Delhi Township · Holt · Data Centers · LEAP · Local Control