Lansing’s Town Board voted to withdraw its proposal to pause large-scale development in the town Wednesday night.
The withdrawal stopped all work on the town’s proposed zoning moratorium, killing the controversial proposal that has dominated the local political scene for months.
The moratorium would have paused most large-scale development in the town. It likely would have stalled an AI data center on the shore of Cayuga Lake, proposed by a company called TeraWulf.
The controversy over the moratorium has fueled multiple confrontational board meetings and two write-in campaigns for the town board.
Lawyers for TeraWulf previously called on the board to pull the moratorium and for Town Supervisor Ruth Groff and Town Board Member Joe Wetmore to resign.
Following the vote Wednesday, Adam Millspaugh, a representative from TeraWulf, thanked the board during the meeting’s public comment period.
“We appreciate that. We look forward to working with you going forward,” Millspaugh said.
This is the second time the town board has voted on whether or not to withdraw the proposal in the past month. The withdrawal resolution specifies that the town is legally allowed to put forward other moratoriums in the future.
The last time the board considered the measure, the moratorium narrowly survived, with Groff, Wetmore and fellow board member Laurie Hemmings voting to keep it alive. Hemmings was not present at Wednesday’s board meeting.
All four present board members voted to withdraw the measure. They didn’t talk about the moratorium or the data center before voting.
However, the meeting’s attendees were eager to discuss both topics. Lansing’s Town Hall was packed with people on both sides of the issue. Some spoke during the public comment period. Others interjected with questions or comments during the board meeting.
