威斯康星州法官驳回商会诉讼：Port Washington 数据中心公投条例保留
威斯康星州 Ozaukee County 巡回法院法官 Adam Gerol 10月19日作出长达一小时的口头裁决，驳回多个商业和行业团体对 Port Washington 市一项条例的诉讼，该条例要求对大型新增税收优惠，包括数据中心的税收优惠，举行全民公投，条例得以保留。
起诉方包括 Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce 等团体，他们主张条例与州法冲突、措辞含糊、会拖慢城市发展。法官 Adam Gerol 认定，原告未能证明条例会造成实际或迫在眉睫的损害；就实体问题，他认为条例与州法一致，并非含糊到无法理解，只是在州法规定的审批流程之外增加了一个公投环节。
这项条例由草根组织 Great Lakes Neighbors United 发起，起因是当地一座耗资150亿美元的超级智能数据中心园区（由 Vantage Data Centers、Oracle 和 OpenAI 联合开发）配套的4.58亿美元地方税收优惠。条例于2026年4月经市民公投通过，是全美首个针对数据中心发展的市政公投议题。裁决后，Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce 表示失望，称更高层级的法院有必要进一步审查；Great Lakes Neighbors United 发言人 Christine Le Jeune 则称，这是 Port Washington 乃至全州每一位选民的胜利。同一天早些时候，环保团体还宣布与州政府就该数据中心项目的环境审查诉讼达成和解：项目许可保留有效，但开发商 Vantage 将出资，由州政府对全州数据中心发展的影响开展更广泛的评估。（GSM 据 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 报道）
Wisconsin Judge Dismisses Chamber Lawsuit, Upholds Port Washington Data Center Referendum Ordinance
In Wisconsin, Ozaukee County Circuit Court Judge Adam Gerol on October 19 issued an oral ruling lasting over an hour, dismissing a lawsuit by business and trade groups challenging a City of Port Washington ordinance that requires public referendums on large new tax incentives, including those for data centers. The ordinance will stand.
The plaintiffs, including the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, argued the ordinance conflicted with state law, was too vague, and would slow development. Judge Gerol concluded the groups had not demonstrated actual or sufficiently imminent injury, and, addressing the merits, found the ordinance consistent with state law and not vague enough to be uninterpretable, saying it merely supplements the approval process outlined in state statutes with a referendum.
The ordinance was proposed by the grassroots group Great Lakes Neighbors United in response to a $15 billion super intelligence data center campus in Port Washington, developed by Vantage Data Centers, Oracle, and OpenAI, and its $458 million in local tax incentives. City voters approved the ordinance in an April 2026 referendum, the first time any U.S. municipality took up a ballot initiative aimed at data center development. After the ruling, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce said it was disappointed and that further examination in higher courts is warranted, while Great Lakes Neighbors United spokesperson Christine Le Jeune called it a win for every voter in Port Washington and across the state. Earlier the same day, environmental groups announced a settlement in a separate lawsuit over the project's environmental review: the permits remain in place, but Vantage will pay for a broader state examination of the effects of data center development across Wisconsin. (GSM, based on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，公有领域（Public Domain）（Port Washington 灯塔黄昏实景）
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
