The DeForest Village Board took no action Tuesday evening on a petition from opponents of a proposed data center, which would require a referendum prior to approval of any such development, after the village attorney said the requirement would be illegal.
The DeForest Village Board took no action on a petition from residents opposed to a proposed data center at a meeting Tuesday evening. Hundreds turned out in support of the petition, which they said would require voters' approval for any large-scale land annexations but the village attorney said would be illegal.
A fraction of attendees at Tuesday night’s DeForest Village Board meeting fit into the main board room. Petitioners amassed enough signatures for their annexation ordinance to go before the village board, according to a memo from Calli Lundgren, the village clerk.
Residents register to speak at a DeForest Village Board meeting. Village Attorney Al Reuter said at the meeting that the ordinance language before the board would set the village up for future lawsuits if approved.
People watch a DeForest Village Board meeting from an overflow room at the Village Hall. Members of the “No Data Center in DeForest” group posted on Facebook that they had been unable to persuade the village to move the meeting to a larger venue to accommodate the expected high turnout.
BARRY ADAMS, STATE JOURNAL
The Raging Grannies of Madison sing data center protest songs ahead of a DeForest Village Board meeting. Nearby, the “No Data Center in DeForest” group distributed stickers while representatives from QTS Data Centers handed out burritos.
BARRY ADAMS, STATE JOURNAL
Multiple rooms in the DeForest Village Hall are at capacity for a board meeting that includes consideration of a petition from data center opponents. The meeting came weeks after a decision by the village board in early December to reject two annexation petitions for the data center and request that they be consolidated into a single petition.
The DeForest Village Board took no action on a petition from residents opposed to a proposed data center at a meeting Tuesday evening. Hundreds turned out in support of the petition, which they said would require voters' approval for any large-scale land annexations but the village attorney said would be illegal.
A fraction of attendees at Tuesday night’s DeForest Village Board meeting fit into the main board room. Petitioners amassed enough signatures for their annexation ordinance to go before the village board, according to a memo from Calli Lundgren, the village clerk.
Residents register to speak at a DeForest Village Board meeting. Village Attorney Al Reuter said at the meeting that the ordinance language before the board would set the village up for future lawsuits if approved.
People watch a DeForest Village Board meeting from an overflow room at the Village Hall. Members of the “No Data Center in DeForest” group posted on Facebook that they had been unable to persuade the village to move the meeting to a larger venue to accommodate the expected high turnout.
The Raging Grannies of Madison sing data center protest songs ahead of a DeForest Village Board meeting. Nearby, the “No Data Center in DeForest” group distributed stickers while representatives from QTS Data Centers handed out burritos.
Multiple rooms in the DeForest Village Hall are at capacity for a board meeting that includes consideration of a petition from data center opponents. The meeting came weeks after a decision by the village board in early December to reject two annexation petitions for the data center and request that they be consolidated into a single petition.
