County commissioners impose data center moratorium
“I think it’d be prudent for us to put a moratorium on for a short period to allow us to get the facts that we need to move forward.”
The Butler County Commissioners voted to impose a moratorium, or temporary suspension, on building data centers within the limits of six townships over which the county has zoning control during a regular meeting on June 16.
Although the commissioners cannot impose moratoriums on developments in areas over which it doesn’t have zoning authority – which consists of most townships in the county – they can approve moratoriums for Hanover, Lemon, Madison, Milford, Oxford and Ross townships.
During several meetings over the past few months, all six of those townships agreed to support a moratorium on development within their limits, although there aren’t currently any companies with defined places to build data centers within those townships.
Still, most of the moratorium proposals that were sent to the commissioners by those townships, including Oxford Township, asked for a pause of 12 months for studies on the implications of a development to be completed. Ross Township trustees also approved an option for an additional 12 months for a total pause of two years if approved by the county.
The commissioners approved a temporary moratorium on the approval, establishment, construction or issuance of permits for any data or data processing center within those townships for a period of six months.
Butler County Administrator Judi Boyko told the Oxford Free Press in an email the moratorium was effective June 17, meaning it’ll expire in December.
Commissioner Donald L. Dixon said of data centers, “This could have huge impacts on our residents.”
Dixon said, although he’s not personally against data centers, he’s not in a position where he can tell residents to trust a data center developer without knowing more about what the implications of those developments could look like.
“I think it’d be prudent for us to put a moratorium on for a short period to allow us to get the facts that we need to move forward,” Dixon said.
Oxford Township Trustee Tom Cooke told the Oxford Free Press he was “disappointed that the commissioners did not respond to the will of the people and agreed to a 6-month moratorium without explanation,” as opposed to a 12-month moratorium.
Dixon said a moratorium would not have any effect on the proposed annexation of land currently within Madison Township limits into the City of Trenton. The Trenton Planning Commission recently approved a site for a Progolis data center, although it’s unclear what the annexed land would be used for or if it’s connected to the data center plans.
In the meantime, the commissioners approved a resolution to request that Prosecuting Attorney Michael T. Gmoser file a motion with the Court of Common Pleas to appoint outside counsel to assist in representation regarding best practices for governmental policy, negotiations and standards related to data centers and their impacts for the county.
