Saline Township Resident Takes Legal Action to Stop Saline Data Center, Citing Open Meetings Act Violations
For Immediate Release
DATE: December 14, 2025
CONTACT: Robby Dube, rdube@ecklandblando.com, 612-236-0175
FOR LEGAL DOCUMENTS, CLICK HERE, CONTACT stopsalinedatacenter@gmail.com, or go to www.stopsalinedatacenter.org/legal
Saline Township Resident Takes Legal Action to Stop Saline Data Center
Saline Township, Mich. – A Saline Township resident filed in Washtenaw County Circuit Court on December 13 to seek intervention in the case between Saline Township and Related Digital over the “hyperscale” data center proposed for a location in Saline Township that resulted in a Consent Judgment, claiming that Township officials violated an Open Meetings Act requirement to make decisions in open, public meetings, and never voted on the finalized consent judgment language.
The enormity of the proposed “Stargate” data center, sought by project developer Related Digital for Oracle and Open AI, the developer of Chat GPT, threatens to overwhelm the farming community in and around Saline Township. The proposed $7 billion, 1.4GW massive hyperscale data center would sprawl across 2.2 million square feet on a 575-acre site in Saline Township with an additional 476 acres in Bridgewater Township. It would be the largest data center in the country and use as much power as nearly one million homes.
Resident Kathryn Haushalter, who lives near the proposed data center site, one of many residents opposed to the project, filed a Motion to Intervene and other court papers through attorneys Robby Dube and Ellis Boal.
Saline and communities from across the state have rallied behind the effort, including from local activist group, Stop the Saline Data Center and nonprofit Rural Michigan Defense Fund which will be collecting donations to support the effort. To learn more, see: https://www.stopsalinedatacenter.org/.
Dube stated, “This is the first salvo in the battle between Michigan citizens and the data centers that are trying to flood Michigan. We have filed to intervene into the Saline lawsuit so we can throw out the consent judgment that was negotiated and signed in secret. Then, we will do what Saline Township was unwilling to do: fight to show the original decision to deny rezoning was valid. Data centers cannot be permitted to use lawfare to override the democratic will of the people.”
Haushalter said, "Our township board had no right to vote secretly and usher in a predatory data center in the middle of our farmland community through unlawful re-zoning. We will now stand with the citizens of Saline Township and fight for our right to say no to this project. I will always defend the people and fight for what's right.”
After returning from deployment in Afghanistan with the United States Marine Corps, Haushalter moved to the Township. She and her husband renovated a nearly-200-year old farmhouse where they are raising their children. Their land is in active farming.
Related Digital formed a limited liability corporation, RD Michigan Property Owner 1, which together with a handful of local landowners willing to sell, applied in July for a “conditional rezoning” of eight parcels on the western edge of Saline Township, adjacent to Bridgewater Township, on the north side of US-12/Michigan Avenue. The Township Planning Commission voted to recommend denying the rezoning. On September 10th, the Board of Trustees also voted to deny the request.
RD Michigan Property Owner 1 and the property owners sued the Township two days later, claiming the Township had “exclusionary zoning.”
On October 1st, the Board met and while in closed session took a vote to “move forward to try to settle the lawsuit.” Voting during a closed session violates the Open Meetings Act.
Without any further open board meetings or board approval on final language, the Township Supervisor and Clerk—just two of the five-member board—signed the final version of the Consent judgment and filed it with the Court on October 15, again violating the Open Meetings Act.
LEGAL DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE HERE.
Proposed Intervening Defendant (Haushalter)’s documents include:
Motion to Intervene
Brief in Support of Motion to Intervene
Proposed Answer and Cross-Claim
Saline Township’s website has posted the Consent Judgment, and Related Digital’s lawsuit against Saline Township and original application for “conditional rezoning” at salinetownship.org.
For Supporters who would like to contribute for the legal defense, see: https://www.stopsalinedatacenter.org/
