Augusta Township, MI: Referendum on Thor Equities $1B Data Center Rezoning Hits August 4 Ballot

Residents of Augusta Township (Washtenaw County, MI) organized a successful referendum petition against the township board’s approval of agricultural-to-industrial rezoning for Thor Equities’ proposed $1B, 800-acre data center near Milan. The Planning Commission had recommended denial; the board overrode it. The referendum, organized as PACT (Protect Augusta Charter Township), appears on the August 4 ballot. A moratorium ordinance had its second reading the same day; a full board recall campaign is also active. If the referendum passes, the rezoning is voided.

This is a rare instance of data-center opposition escalating past moratorium and zoning-hearing tactics to a direct voter referendum on an already-approved rezoning — a stronger and more durable resistance mechanism than the moratorium votes the timeline has tracked at dozens of other jurisdictions in 2026, since a successful referendum voids the approval outright rather than merely pausing future applications.