Preparing Communities for Data Center Development

An Innovative Cities Lecture

As data center development expands across Wisconsin and the Midwest, communities are increasingly being approached by developers seeking land, electricity, and water. While these projects can bring significant investment, they also raise complex questions related to zoning, infrastructure capacity, public finance, and environmental impacts.

This session equips planners and local officials with the foundational knowledge needed before a data center proposal arrives—and the critical questions to ask when it does. Speakers will address the wide range of data center types, Wisconsin’s 2023 data center tax exemption, local zoning and policy tools, and lessons from communities across the region. Case examples from Wisconsin, the Midwest, and the country will highlight strategies for managing, attracting, or limiting data center development in alignment with community goals.

Biographies

Allison Carlson is the Executive Director for the Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition. She is an energy and sustainability professional, working over 15 years across a variety of roles in market research and evaluation, government regulation and oversight, program planning, and administration. She has a keen eye toward the concerns of commissions, utilities, and local governments, allowing for more informed and actionable solutions. Professional objectives are to foster a just and clean energy economy through supporting equitable policy and effective organizational systems and processes. Allison holds a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BS in Finance, Economics, and International Business from UW-La Crosse.

Bridget Williams is a policy coordinator at the Great Plains Institute and facilitates the MISO Cities and Communities Coalition, a group of local governments advocating for an electric grid that supports their goals to lower emissions, strengthen resilience, promote equity, and foster economic opportunity.

In this role, Bridget conducts research, tracks regional and federal energy issues, and develops educational materials to assist local governments with engaging grid decision-makers and developing high-impact local energy policies and programs. Bridget recently organized a webinar series to discuss the water and energy impacts of data centers and levers local governments can use to align data centers with local goals. Bridget has a BS in community and regional planning from Iowa State University and lives in Milwaukee, WI.

Kevin Lahner is the City Manager for Janesville, WI, managing strategic planning and employee engagement efforts.  Recent projects include coordinating the planning for a data center and updated City zoning code. Previously he was the City Administrator for the Waukesha, WI, where he managed the daily operations and administered the City’s Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan, and Operating Budget. Kevin holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Texas and a BS in Communications-Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

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