Deep Green data center

Called the withdrawal a blocked shot rather than a win, urging the council to examine how the project got this far and to think about social costs like asthma hospitalizations from downtown fuel cells.

Detailed undisclosed emissions — roughly 105 million pounds of CO2 annually — late disclosures, NDAs, and environmental justice concerns; urged the council to protect the community from fossil fuel expansion.

Said the process 'poked the bear' and woke up activists, criticized BWL's handling and the threatened Wentworth Park substation, and questioned why ratepayers would fund the steam-heat conversion.

Thanked Kost, Hussain, and Nevarez Martinez for standing firm, criticized the rest, and urged the city pursue real jobs and companies rather than more apartments and data centers.

Said the council wasn't researching the project and warned residents could pursue recalls or new elections if their voices are ignored.

Expressed relief the project was pulled and praised Nevarez Martinez for drafting future protections, urging council members to read the city's sustainability plan.

Thanked the opposing council members and Sunrise MSU, and called for an immediate moratorium on data centers plus aggressive marketing of the now-empty parcel.

Said she's filled with optimism for Lansing's future and echoed the call for a data center moratorium.

Argued the crisis is a chance to rebuild trust, dust off the design Lansing plan, pursue environmental justice, and better regulate the BWL monopoly — and protect Wentworth Park.

Thanked the council for engaging and Nevarez Martinez in particular, pushed back on 'misinformation' labels, and cited the EPA social cost of carbon — about $4.3 million a year for the project's emissions.

Called the mayor's 'bring me your housing proposals' quote embarrassing and urged the city to actively recruit developers, arguing housing density downtown is a positive.

Thanked the three opposing council members and suggested funding thermal energy networks, climate-resilient pipes, and green projects instead of data centers.

Glad the data center was turned down, calling it a potential Pandora's box for emissions in an area with no experience with such facilities.

Called Deep Green's exit cowardly, criticized city leadership, and argued a community center would serve the city better than a data center.

Thanked the at-large members who engaged with her, asked that the withdrawals be publicly posted, and demanded a review of how Deep Green ever came to Lansing and whether proper process was followed.

Celebrated the withdrawal, thanked council members who listened to constituents, and said Lansing needs real leadership.

A young renter of six years, she thanked the opposing council members and told the rest she'd have broken her lease and left had the data center been approved.

Celebrated the item being pulled, said these fights fracture the community, and invited Council to join ongoing monthly housing and economic development planning tables so residents are part of the plan from the start.

Said he's glad the unproven technology from a company with poor transparency won't land downtown near poorer neighborhoods, thanked Kost and Hussain for listening to constituents, and urged the city to reconsider its Flock license-plate reader contract over privacy concerns.

Lifelong resident supported the project, citing property tax revenue and the BWL steam-to-hot-water conversion.

Spoke against the data center project.

Spoke in support, calling the project a $120 million commitment with about $1 million a year for the city and binding commitments other Michigan communities lack.

The Fledge founder and engineer argued against the sale, citing the $660 million of nearby development, unvalidated numbers, and questions about the buyback clause.

Plumbers and pipefitters rep who supported the project for its 20-year service contract jobs.

Opposed the sale on environmental and financial grounds and criticized the Lansing Shuffle buyers' unpaid taxes.

MSU senior with Sunrise Movement urged a no vote, citing withheld details and negligible permanent jobs.

Ward 3 resident urged a no vote on climate grounds, saying Lansing shouldn't industrialize downtown.

Fourth Ward resident opposed, saying children need housing and parks, not a data center, and called for democratizing BWL.

Nearby resident opposed, citing Bloom Energy's environmental violations and lack of a community benefits agreement.

Quarter-mile neighbor switched to opposition after learning about emissions and the BWL timeline; urged a no vote.

Ward 1 resident urged council to stop entertaining the project given weeks of overwhelming opposition.

Read an email urging Spadafore to vote no, citing transparency failures and better potential uses of the property.

Environmental engineering student opposed on water and energy strain grounds.

Door-knocking resident opposed, noting many nearby families and businesses weren't aware of the project.

Supported the sale, citing needed tax base for fire staffing and comparisons to existing local data centers.

Youth activist demanded a legally binding community benefits agreement before any approval.

17-year-old Waverley student opposed, citing wildlife, water, and utility bill impacts.

Veteran watchdog opposed on transparency grounds, citing BWL's shifting story and threats about a Wentworth Park substation.

UA Local 333 plumber supported the project for union jobs and the 20-year maintenance contract.

Small business owner opposed, saying data centers deter downtown businesses and families.

Marketing professional opposed, calling the project's green branding misleading and the budget sweeteners a dangled carrot.

Opposed, linking data centers to surveillance and AI harms.

Former public-service social scientist urged a no vote, questioning whether officials have drifted from residents' values.

Small business owner and gardener opposed, listing 30+ nearby businesses and opposing 'light industrial' noise near homes.

Spoke against the data center both at the hearing and later in city comment, distrusting job creation and data misuse.

Downtown resident opposed, arguing AI and data centers harm art, truth, and the public.

East Lansing resident with Lansing family opposed, saying contractual safeguards don't cover environmental and economic risks.

Old Everett Neighborhood Association president opposed both the data center and the Shuffle sale, advocating a land value tax.

Thanked Clerk Swope for secure elections, then argued a power plant downtown violates the city's own placemaking and climate plans.

Youth advocate with PPYAM demanded a strong, enforceable community benefits agreement; voted no.

East Side resident opposed, comparing Deep Green's 'light' pitch to light cigarettes and citing the city's own plans.

Ward 1 homeowner opposed, saying the city is being sold a 'lesser of two evils' out of desperation.

Spoke on data center risks: heat shutdowns, water use, e-waste, and cybersecurity.

Ward 3 member asked for hybrid meeting options and opposed the project, saying the riverfront capital should be choosers, not beggars.

Recent Lansing transplant opposed, citing housing, jobs, and climate concerns.

Lifelong resident urged reviving abandoned multi-family housing plans for the land instead, invoking the I-496 displacement history.

Opposed, citing Goldman Sachs analysis of data center overcapacity and asking for resident compensation if it proceeds.

First-time speaker opposed, citing unfulfilled tech promises, water, and clean energy standards.

Longtime resident opposed, noting most supporters had financial stakes and questioning the jobs and housing math.

Homeowner and business owner spoke urgently against the data center's water and air pollution and against privatizing the Shuffle.

Former resident who left over affordability opposed, citing BWL water rate hikes.

Long-time committee member urged a binding community benefits agreement before moving forward.

Called council members' questions gaslighting, citing 65% ALICE threshold in the census tract, and threatened to publish campaign finance research.

Urged rejection of the land sale and an investigation into BWL's rate increases and its AI relationship.

Spoke again against the data center during city-government comment.

Opposed, arguing both pro and con arguments rest on the project's original misleading framing.

Spoke against the data center project.

Questioned fuel cell location and capacity, faulted the Planning Commission's flip-flopped vote, and challenged the claimed public benefit of the data center.

Representing FLEDGE, argued the data center plus power plant violates form-based code intent and climate commitments, questioned Bloom's management contract, and cited MSU's 11,000-car traffic estimate.

Argued the former parking lot is now valuable property that should drive the city's growth, not a data center returning only tax revenue.

A small business owner and father of three said the community overwhelmingly opposes the data center, calculated the revenue as roughly $8 per resident, and said it would deter him from moving his business downtown.

Said he'd rather work with council than fight, questioned who council works for given donors, and spoke of unhoused people as untapped human capital.

Suggested alternate uses for the site near Frandor, cited Mason's rejection of a data center, and complained about public comment rules while urging a citizen petition drive.

Local 333 apprentice briefly voiced support for the project's work.

IBEW 665 representative said the temporary construction jobs matter deeply to his 180 members who live in Lansing zip codes.

Opposed over data privacy and the natural gas-to-hydrogen fuel process, asking how much water and CO2 it produces.

Business manager of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 333 said his members — Lansing taxpayers — fully back the project and have built thousands of data centers.

LIUNA Local 499 deputy director touted the family-sustaining union jobs, tax base growth, and the project's heat-reuse design.

Opposed the project, invoking indigenous history, surveillance concerns, and calling for housing and green infrastructure instead.

MSU Sunrise Movement member questioned the fuel cell's compliance with Michigan's renewable energy law and the noise ordinance exemption for industrial uses.

Local 333 apprentice voiced support for the local work.

MSU student from Maryland urged opposition, citing corporate pollution of watersheds and asking whose voice council will heed.

Local 665 journeyman wireman voiced support for Lansing's growth.

Opposed the data center as downtown blight, questioning the enthusiasm for it over housing and better wages.

A former Local 352 business manager came to speak on the Deep Green project but was redirected, since it was on the 7 p.m. City Council agenda, not the committee's.

Former BWL IBEW business manager urged support, saying the compact data center is the next generation and a $120 million investment Lansing shouldn't turn away.

Opposed the rezoning, questioning whether residents were told the same information and citing BWL transparency concerns over street lighting during CSO work.

MSU student said data centers last 15 years but their impacts last far longer, calling the project unsustainable.

MSU student urged rejection, saying Lansing shouldn't trade its water and public trust for a project benefiting outside corporations.

Urged a no vote on rezoning, pressing for enforceable commitments and questioning how the site could be repurposed if Deep Green leaves.

Pressed council on carbon dioxide emissions from the natural gas fuel cells and asked who the project really serves.

MSU biochemistry student raised concerns about unchosen coolants (propylene vs. toxic ethylene glycol), chemical disposal, and worker safety.

Lansing parent pushed back against fear of new technology, arguing the water use is a drop in the bucket and council should negotiate rather than stall progress.

Read a letter from Mike Dombrowski of Strong Towns Lansing opposing the industrial use of river-adjacent downtown land.

MSU student and Sunrise Movement member called the project greenwashing, noting the $120 million facility creates only about 15 permanent jobs.

IBEW 665 business agent and president noted the lot has sat empty since 1996 and said 800 electricians need this construction work.

MSU senior and Sunrise member said Deep Green and BWL are greenwashing a natural gas fuel cell project kept secret until January 26.

Recounted Lansing's history of displaced neighborhoods in the name of progress and urged council to dig into every number before voting.

MSU student argued state law gives the public essentially no regulatory control over data center development.

MSU environmental sustainability student said the BWL fuel cell deal breaches public trust and conflicts with the Design Lansing plan's DT-3 zoning purpose.

IBEW 665 business manager declared full support, saying electricians have built the cleanest power technology of every generation.

Lansing Economic Area Partnership leader called the $120 million project a net win, noting 58 business and labor organizations signed letters of support and no local incentives are requested.

MSU student said Deep Green says whatever it needs to for approval and warned Lansing could own 'the most expensive furnace in the world' if the AI bubble bursts.

Carpenters council rep urged support, noting $65 million invested in local training centers that prepare Lansing workers for projects like this.

Laborers 499 member and Lansing resident voiced support and pledged to be an environmental steward on the project if it proceeds.

BWL water production manager corrected the record: 100% groundwater from the Saginaw Aquifer, and the project's 500,000 gallons a year is 0.008% of the city's pumpage.

Opposed the sale and rezoning, arguing industrial noise exemption and power demand would raise costs for the 100,000 BWL ratepayers who live here.

IBEW 665 executive board chairman urged support after due diligence, calling the project economic progress.

Founder of Voices of England cited Nordic heat-reuse precedent and urged council not to let fear of the unknown block a proven model.

MSU student and pre-service teacher called the open house format divide-and-conquer and suggested a solar park instead.

Argued the site is in a residential area, not a business district, and the data center belongs in a business district instead.

Ward 3 resident fact-checked the Wendy's water comparison (26,000 vs. 500,000 gallons a year) and urged council to hold out for housing on the site.

Sprinkler Fitters Local 669 business agent voiced union support, citing quality local construction and $1 million annual BWL return on equity.

LEP's business attraction VP and Flint native formally endorsed the project, calling the site underutilized and Deep Green transparent.

Argued data centers remain valuable infrastructure even as chips change, and urged Lansing to embrace the opportunity.

Claimed everyone speaking in support is paid by the project and called on Council Member Garza to recuse himself over his union position.

Questioned the legality of the petition and opposed the project (he also commented later on conditions at the Causeway Bay hotel shelter).

Spoke against the project, linking data center surveillance technology to targeting of Arab, Muslim, Black, brown and indigenous communities.

Nearby resident and Allen Neighborhood Center volunteer urged a no vote and warned against corporate intentions toward Michigan's fresh water.

Opposed the data center, citing environmental and noise concerns and distrust of a new international LLC using Lansing as a proving ground.

Listed more than 20 businesses and attractions within a half mile of the site and opposed the rezoning, defending the existing master plan.

Opposed the data center, saying the proposed site feels residential to him.

Lifelong resident concerned about water contamination risk from the data center and noise near residential areas.

A Lansing nurse who pushed back on claims there are no pedestrians in the area and urged Council not to vote for the project in February.

Homeowner and urban farmer nine blocks away who found the planning presentation uninspiring and raised concerns about noise regulation and clean-energy accounting.

Said Deep Green couldn't answer basic science and engineering questions at a community meeting and mocked the presentation, invoking The Matrix.

Rebutted the EDP/BWL presentation point by point, arguing the area is pedestrian-friendly and residential, and that staff's own logic favors housing over a data center.

A social worker and uncle of two young Lansing kids, he opposed the data center as profit over people with environmental risks to children.

A sustainability scholar and 40-year resident who called any data center bad for Lansing, citing AI's social dangers and environmental harm.

Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 333 and Lansing Building Trades president urging approval — construction jobs, careers, permanent facility jobs, and economic impact.

Carpenters union rep supporting the project as generational career opportunity for roughly 1,500 members.

Supported the project but submitted written questions on grid management, water use, and public audit for BWL, Deep Green, and Council.

Fourth Ward resident urging rejection — EMF and diesel generator health concerns, noise, rate hikes, and better uses for walkable downtown land.

Read seven written questions into the record on site selection, employment, power draw, backup generators, and clients; leaning against the project.

Said she got conflicting answers at Deep Green's open house — 16 MW from hydrogen fuel cells or a 16 MW gas plant?

Capital Area Friends of the Environment urged a no vote, asked for publication of the plan, a 60-day comment period, and a community benefits ordinance like Detroit's.

MSU student opposed; suggested retrofitting existing data centers or building a shelter/community kitchen on the site instead.

Sunrise Movement member from Flint urging a community benefits agreement and watershed protection under Michigan common law.

IBEW Local 665 rep (850 electricians) supporting the project and its integration with the public utility.

Thanked union workers but worries about the AI bubble popping and freshwater waste; wants longer-term investment.

Former Catholic school worker compared the project to a Camden 'sustainable' facility that harmed children's air — skeptical of green labels.

Cherryhill resident with five questions: what is being permitted (data center or power plant?), sustainability goals, industrial rates, community benefits, and noise ordinance accountability.

Newer resident who says the data center story buries the lede — mass surveillance infrastructure — and asked about Council members' stock holdings.

Eastside homeowner and urban farmer nine blocks from the site — worried about pollution near food-growing land and opposes data centers anywhere.

Got an insulting vague answer ('five to six trucks worth') on water use at the open house; wants a leak plan for the closed-loop system.

Eastside lifelong resident opposing the project — distrusts Deep Green's efficiency claims and calls the siting near a majority-Black neighborhood environmentally racist.

MSU environmental microbiology student who heard 'I don't know' repeatedly at the open house; questioned renewable claims, surveillance, and the 15 permanent jobs.

Natural resource scientist worried about watershed setbacks and calls the project predatory disinvestment; would rather see a shelter or community center.

Eastside arborist worried about watershed oversight, foreign corporate accountability, and surveillance of the queer community.

New resident who's gotten blank answers at public hearings and hopes Council declines the project.

MSU worker and union steward who doesn't believe Deep Green's pitch — says working people will foot the bill when things go wrong.

Warned of Saline's data center experience — rushed council decisions and unanswered questions about consumer costs.

Lives between the East Side and Stadium District; nervous about speculative information, summer heat disposal, coolant, and having this near his neighborhood.

Spoke against both the land sale and the rezoning, questioning whether a data center is the best use of the land, flagging apparent contradictions in the closed-loop water system, and warning about noise, vibration and the long-term value of the promised contributions.

Supported the data center project, saying it adds economic value, fits the city's footprint, and will add hot water to the BWL steam loop.

Opposed the data center, warning it could raise utility rates, questioning its closed water system, and asking the council to reject the rezone and put more money into housing.