“The purpose of gummint is to create a healthy bidness climate.” — From a column by Molly Ivins
“Who dealt this mess anyway?” ± The Fugs
ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.
It’s been awhile since I’ve written an editorial, but I feel compelled to speak up on one of the most serious issues for northeastern Allegan County — high tech moving into our back yards.
It’s painfully obvious to me that nearly all of us were caught flat footed by the threat of Microsoft bringing a data center to Dorr Township. We were asleep at the switch, but we need to blame somebody for this misfortune, and that handy somebody is Supervisor Jeff Miling. Wrongly so.
The Planning Commission not long ago completed its customary task of adopting a master plan for the township. The current document includes the land Microsoft wants to use for a data center being zoned for industrial and business. So the Catch-22 here is that the tech giant doesn’t need to have the two parcels rezoned. It’s already been done.
Who’s to blame? Not Miling. Not the Planning Commission. We have met the enemy and he is us.
It’s true that the township could rezone the land in question to some other use, but that simply would invite Microsoft to file suit. And with its high-powered attorneys and impressive wealth, it would win. Therefore it would cost Dorr Township a lot of money with nothing to show for it.
Remember the Golden Rule: “He who has the gold makes the rules.”
I really hate to say this, but Dorr Township and its residents really can’t do anything about this. NIMBY (“Not in my back yard) bitch sessions will do nothing except delay the inevitable.
The next meeting of the Dorr Township, a special session in the first week of February, only will be an exercise in great wailing and gnashing of teeth, or a lot of “sound and fury signifying nothing.”
If township officials adopt a moratorium, just like other area municipalities, all they will be doing is forestalling the inevitable.
Getting out the torches and pitchforks is a waste of time.
“Hey ho, don’t worry, you know you can’t win. No matter who you vote for, the government always gets in.” — The Bonzo Dog Band
I appreciate your point of view. Mine comes from several years sitting on a township board. Dorr township trustees and planning commission should have checked and updated their zoning ordinance when Microsoft started the process to purchase the land. A data center is not a warehouse, regardless of what they want to tell you, and there is zero positive results for Dorr township residents in having one in the township. I have dealt with similar issues before and this is the same. And the efforts of the residents can bring change to this proposal by limiting what Microsoft is able to do with regards to the size and impact it will have on the neighborhood. Thanks for listening.