Village Board to vote on rezone on Oct. 14.
The Microsoft data center in Caledonia cleared a major hurdle after the village Plan Commission voted 5-2 on Sept. 29 to rezone the property from agricultural, rural residential and low-density residential to light industrial.
Village Trustee Nancy Pierce, who serves on the commission, and Ami May voted against the rezone.
The rezone of the 244-acre property now goes to the full village board to be voted on at the Oct. 14 meeting.
Residents opposed to the data center packed the Plan Commission meeting.
For weeks residents have been expressing their discontent with the project before they were aware Microsoft was behind it. But for some residents who are against the development, knowing Microsoft was the company behind the project didn’t change their feelings.
Village administrator Todd Willis said roughly 50 people spoke at the meeting with a majority speaking against the development.
“There was a lot of people but not everyone in attendance spoke,” Willis said adding officials from Racine County Executive Ralph Malicki’s office, Gateway Technical College and Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce spoke in favor.
In a statement, Microsoft said:
“We appreciate the time and attention of all members of the Plan Commission, Village staff and Caledonia community. As members of the Village Board consider next steps, we look forward to continued conversation and partnership.We are eager to work together with neighbors in Caledonia to build a project that reflects the values and priorities important here – including those related to the character of the community and the natural resources that are precious here.”
To add more context to the potential financial impact of a data center, Willis prepared a memo laying out several different outcomes.
If the rezone is approved by the village board and the development moves forward, Willis calculates that one operational buidling could generate $420,959 in village taxes and reduce the residential tax burden from 88% of the general fund to 85%.
If there is a two operational buildings, that could generate $809,039 in village taxes and reduce the tax burden for residents down to 83%; and if there are three operational buildings it could generate $1,197,119 in village taxes and reduce the tax burden of residents to 82%.
“These are not precise calculations on what the value of the buildings or the tax benefit from the proposed project, but more of creating a range of possible outcomes during the construction period or when operational,” the memo states. “As the project continues through the process a more concise evaluation of all valuation factors related to the project with the finalization of civil site design submittals can be completed by the Village Assessor.”
There was also some mention in the memo of potentially making a tax incrimental district (TID) for the project, which would significantly impact the amount of taxes collected by the development.
“We are definitely not considering a TID. That’s not on the table at all,” Willis said adding he included it in the memo because a few board members were curious about what the revenue would be.
A TID is often used by municipalities to attract developers by temporarily keeping the tax rate frozen for a particular property while the company develops the land and can pocket the difference for what it would have been paying in taxes.
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