A $16 billion OpenAI-Oracle Stargate data center was built in Saline Township, Michigan despite being voted down by both the township planning commission and board. The facility requires 1.4 gigawatts of power and sparked wider backlash — at least 19 Michigan municipalities have since frozen AI data center approvals, part of a national wave where 69 U.S. jurisdictions have now blocked new AI facility construction. The core tension is that local zoning rejections did not stop the project, raising questions about what authority townships actually hold over large corporate infrastructure.