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In Ohio’s rural areas, zoning is sometimes a four letter word. Data centers could change that.
By: Amanda Pirani
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SCIOTO TOWNSHIP (WOUB/Report for America) — On a snowy March evening, over 200 people packed into the Scioto Township Volunteer Fire Department.
From Amish farmers to public officials, they’re all there to discuss whether a large-scale data center might be coming to Jackson County.
At the front of the room stood Kasey Hall, the meeting’s organizer. She says she’s not usually one to put herself out there so publicly.
But that all changed last month when her parents were asked if they would be interested in selling their land to an unnamed company for a data center.
Hall, who comes from three generations of farmers, was alarmed by the proposal.
Shortly after, she made her very first post on Facebook, asking if any community members would help her stop the potential development.
“I think we’re just going too fast for anyone to be comfortable and know what’s happening,” she said.
During the meeting, community members posed concerned questions about the rumored data center’s size, resource use, jobs and their property rights. Others pointed out that the development could bring economic growth.
Larry Kidd, a board member of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, said that while data centers don’t provide many jobs, they offer significant salaries.
“They are six figure jobs,” he said. “They’re more than security. They’re also engineers. And they (data centers) could bring in $1.5 to $3 billion into the economy with construction.”
Ultimately, though, Kidd said it should be up to the township to decide what it wants.
“The most important thing is that your property rights should be respected,” he said. “And if you do negotiate a deal, make sure it’s the best deal you can get.”
Across the region, communities like Scioto Township are weighing what the prospect of a data center development means to them.
There are ten counties in southeast Ohio that have one or more data center proposals. In most cases, information about the potential developments is limited.
Concerned residents like Hall are fighting to know more about what’s coming, arguing they need more time before deciding if they want a data center in the area.
But in many cases, they’re finding that choice may not be theirs to make.
Without zoning, regulating developments poses challenges
In Washington County, Waterford resident Shayna Robinson was horrified to learn her neighbors were receiving offers for their land as part of a potential data center development.
Her family also received an offer to sell, which they declined. But she’s not sure what her quiet, agricultural neighborhood will look like in the future.
“I’m smack dab in the very middle of this,” she said. “The uncertainty of this is really just a nightmare to be honest.”
Waterford Township, like much of southeast Ohio, isn’t zoned. That means there aren’t rules in place preventing developments from coming into a neighborhood like Robinson’s.
“Zoning usually has districts, it usually has specific uses allowed,” said Leah Curtis, general counsel for the Ohio Farm Bureau. “If an area doesn’t have local zoning then most likely there’s no limitation for locating a data center or really anything else.”
In Scioto County, residents like Audrey Dotson worry about the effects of a data center with a proposed location less than 2 miles from local schools and homes.
“Our homes are our investment,” she said. “I probably wouldn’t even be able to give mine away because I’m pretty close to it too.”
Most of the data centers proposed for the region are in municipalities without zoning. Some of those working to stop the developments feel that’s by design.
“We’re being taken advantage of because we’re unzoned and we’re rural Appalachian,” said Adams County resident Emily Harper. “We don’t want NDAs (nondisclosure agreements) to come our way. We don’t want backlash from our citizens. We don’t want this happening.”
Prospect of zoning poses difficult choice for rural communities
Robinson said she hopes to do what she can to stop the data center from coming in, but she also worries about how zoning could affect the way of life in Waterford.
“That is a tough one,” she said. “We don’t have to ask permission for simple things like putting up a fence, so that’s great. … At the same time, I think there should be some form of protection in place for this type of thing.”
Robinson isn’t the only one hesitant about such a big change.
Eighty miles away, it isn’t long before the question of zoning arises during the Scioto Township meeting at the fire station.
Township trustees explained they could pursue the process, but warned of “spiraling” regulations that residents might not want, like being told when to mow their lawn.
Hall, the meeting’s organizer, said zoning is a four letter word for many in the community, who are wary of seeing regulations on their property.
It’s a fairly common position in southeast Ohio, where most counties don’t have zoning laws.
Kayla Arielle, a Meigs County resident, described this as a part of the region’s culture.
“I think freedom is a big thing for Appalachians,” she said. “Even something as simple as zoning not really being a thing out here. Where I live people can build what they want and do what they want on their own property and have the freedom to do that.”
Curtis, the Farm Bureau attorney, said what zoning entails is up to the needs and desires of the community implementing it.
“It does not necessarily mean it has to come down to, ‘You can’t plant this type of tree,’” she said. “It is largely considering, how do we organize our community and what types of uses go within our community?”
Kyle Brooks, director of governmental affairs for the Ohio Township Association, cautioned that while many communities may be asking questions about zoning in response to unwanted developments, any zoning plans should be carefully considered and planned over time.
Zoning is a multistep process, and how that process plays out will differ depending on the community. In townships, it requires the creation of a comprehensive plan, which must then be put to voters for approval.
Brooks said putting together a comprehensive plan can be a lengthy and expensive process which typically entails expertise from a zoning lawyer or consultant.
Residents struggle to learn about incoming developments
Molly Bryden, a researcher with left-leaning think tank Policy Matters Ohio, said public officials can negotiate what’s called a community benefits agreement (CBA) to address community concerns around data centers.
That’s a legal arrangement that can hold a developer to specifics when it comes to things like resource use, job opportunities, workforce training, tax revenue and community investments.
While some communities around the country have successfully negotiated CBAs for data centers, it’s not something that has been done in Ohio.
“The negotiations required to establish a community benefits agreement, it’s a very time intensive process with a lot of engagement from local communities and stakeholders,” Bryden said. “What we’re seeing across Ohio is a lot of these deals are being made behind closed doors.”
Without the need for local approvals or permits, the companies behind data center developments may not feel the need to engage with or inform the community of their project.
And legally, they’re not obligated to.
Residents like Robinson in Waterford have received little information about their potential data center. What she’s learned has been through her own detective work, mapping out where neighbors have received offers and what that could mean for the scale of the development.
The Washington County commissioners have signed nondisclosure agreements with the developer, limiting what they can acknowledge publicly about the project. Similar agreements have been signed relating to developments in Adams, Scioto, Pike and Brown counties.
This playbook has generally remained consistent around the region: purchase land under a vaguely named limited liability company and request landowners or public officials involved to sign nondisclosure agreements.
Developments in these cases become public knowledge only if and when a tax abatement is requested, or a company chooses to announce its groundbreaking.
In Brown County, an NDA prevented public officials from acknowledging an incoming development as a data center for months.
Companies developing data centers may also develop communications strategies that limit the effectiveness of public records requests.
An article providing legal expertise to companies said they could minimize disclosures by visually reviewing documents with public officials, not allowing public officials to copy project documents and using a third party to provide information (keeping the company anonymous).
Dan Diorio is vice president of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, a membership association for the industry. He said the use of nondisclosure agreements allows companies to protect proprietary information and remain a step ahead of others.
“Being a competitor within a highly competitive industry, you want to ensure you don’t give others insight into where you may plan to develop,” Diorio said.
He added that NDAs are commonly used for a variety of economic development projects.
But for people expecting a data center down the street, it’s created a sense of apprehension and anxiety.
Patrick McDavid lives in Green Township, which could soon see a 500,000-square-foot data center owned by Google. He doesn’t oppose data centers in their entirety but said he was frustrated by the lack of transparency around the project.
“We have no idea how much water is going to be used, how the wastewater will be treated or disposed of, the power consumption,” he said. “We don’t have a way to make an informed decision about whether this will be good or bad for the community at this point.”
Some local governments move forward on zoning, others look for alternatives
While the prospect of zoning faces local opposition in many communities, some are changing their minds in response to potential data center developments.
“There’s nothing in place, and I think up until now I’ve agreed with that,” said Hall, the organizer in Scioto Township. “But now we are facing a different challenge.”
In Adams County, two townships have begun the zoning process in response to proposed data centers.
In Lawrence County, Hamilton township began looking at zoning after a data center development took its local government by surprise.
Many are also opting to pass moratoriums that temporarily ban a specific kind of development.
Jacob Hock, an Ironton City Council member who voted to approve a moratorium on data centers, said he views it as a safeguard.
“There’s so many unknowns,” he said. “We as a legislative body feel that it’s not in the public’s best interest to allow these things to come in because we don’t yet understand the potential impacts it could have on us.”
But for one Adams and Brown County-based group known as Ohioans for Responsible Development, those measures aren’t enough.
Moratoriums can give local public officials more time to learn about data centers, but they’re not designed to prevent development in the long term.
“This raised enough concern in us to be like, we need to group up and actually do something about this. Because this isn’t just about our future, it’s about our children’s and our grandchildren’s future,” said Adams County resident Skye Wilson.
The proposed constitutional amendment would prohibit new data centers larger than 25 megawatts.
The group will have to gather more than 400,000 additional signatures throughout the state to succeed, but they’re confident there’s enough frustration to push them forward.
“I’m not scared,” said organizer Nikki Gerber. “We’re going to get it.”