Wisconsin Moratoria

Every infrastructure moratorium we have identified in Wisconsin as of April 2026.

2 instruments — 2 in force, 0 pending, 0 past. Activity level: Medium.

Jurisdiction	Type	Date enacted	Duration	Status
City of Madison	City	2026-01-24	One year, or until earlier adoption of data center ordinance amendments	🟡 Pending
Manitowoc County	County	2026-04-28	18 months per WBAY contemporaneous reporting after the 2026-04-28 board vote; co	🟡 Pending

Detailed entries

Type: City
Status: 🟡 Pending
Date enacted: 2026-01-24
Duration: One year, or until earlier adoption of data center ordinance amendments
Moratorium ID: wi-madison-2026
Legal basis: Legistar File 91135, Ordinance ORD-26-00002, creating MGO Sec. 28.140
What prompted it: Madison cited the absence of a data center definition or specific standards in MGO Chapter 28. The city also identified potential energy, water, emergency service, traffic, noise, air quality, fiscal, and land use impacts
Affected projects: New principal-use data centers and telecommunications centers over 10,000 sq ft requiring zoning certificates in Madison
Detailed status: Active
Outcome: Pending. The moratorium gives city agencies time to draft a permanent definition and zoning standards

Type: County
Status: 🟡 Pending
Date enacted: 2026-04-28
Duration: 18 months per WBAY contemporaneous reporting after the 2026-04-28 board vote; co
Moratorium ID: wi-manitowoc-county-2026
Legal basis: Ordinance 2026/2028-10, creating Manitowoc County Code Sec. 8.495
What prompted it: Town petitions from Mishicot, Two Creeks, and Two Rivers; concerns about health and safety, air quality, water resources, water use, electricity demand, fire hazards, public services, roads, property values, noise, visual impacts, farmland preservation, and lack of county data center standards
Affected projects: Data centers in county-zoned areas, especially Mishicot, Two Creeks, and Two Rivers. Reporting identifies Cloverleaf Infrastructure land outreach in the area, but no filed project application was identified
Detailed status: Approved by county board on 2026-04-28; active upon publication
Outcome: Pending. The county plans to study impacts and develop zoning and regulatory standards