Six townships voted to support a data center moratorium. What now?

The trustees of the six townships over which Butler County has zoning control have agreed to the imposition of a moratorium, or temporary suspension, on building data centers within their limits by the Butler County Commissioners.

Although the county cannot make final decisions or impose moratoriums on development in areas over which it doesn’t have zoning authority, meaning it cannot approve a county-wide moratorium, it does have zoning authority over Hanover, Lemon, Madison, Milford, Oxford and Ross townships.

Although there aren’t currently any companies with defined plans to build data centers in those six townships, Hanover Township Administrator Bruce Henry told trustees during a meeting in May that the commissioners were trying to assess if there was a “strong enough interest” in a moratorium.

The county would need to change zoning code and implement a moratorium in all six townships at the same time. In public meetings over the past few months, all six of those townships have agreed to support a moratorium on data center development within their limits.

Although many of the moratorium proposals asked for a pause of 12 months for studies to be completed on the implications of a data center development, Ross Township trustees approved an option for an additional 12 months if approved by commissioners.

The final township to approve a suspension of development was Oxford Township, when it’s trustees met June 8 and voted 3-0 for the moratorium.

“I think that data centers would not support the bucolic nature of the township,” Oxford Township Trustee Tom Cooke told the Oxford Free Press of his decision.

“I don’t think we have the infrastructure to support it,” Cooke said. “I’m not looking forward to increased energy prices and the amount of water and the noise pollution and the fact that they run generators. I just think it’s an environmental disaster for Oxford Township.”

During a meeting on May 20 in which Hanover Township Trustees agreed to the county possibly imposing a moratorium, Henry said he also feels like his township isn’t “well-suited” for a data center, citing the power supply availability within the township’s zoning limits. 

A letter in support of  a moratorium signed by Lemon Township Trustees asks for a temporary pause on any data center development to “allow for a thorough review of zoning regulations, potential environmental effects, public utility demands, and broader community implications.”

What now?

During the Butler County Commissioners meeting on June 9, the board approved a resolution to request that Prosecuting Attorney Michael T. Gmoser file a motion with the Court of Common Pleas for an order appointing the law firm Taft Stettinius and Hollister LLP as outside counsel for the purpose of legal representation, advice and counsel.

According to the resolution, the firm would “assist the Prosecuting Attorney in the legal representation of the Board of County Commissioners Butler County, Ohio for specific and general interests regarding best practices for governmental policy, development negotiations, and standards related to data centers and impacts to County infrastructure, utilities, and the financial and general welfare of affected political subdivisions and their residents.”

Gmoser told the Oxford Free Press the reason outside counsel is required is because the type of representation the commissioners are asking for “requires a more specialized knowledge of issues dealing with these data centers.”

Gmoser said the commissioners want a “thorough review” of the mechanisms the data centers are using for the purposes of getting approvals.

He said although the county doesn’t have authority over zoning for the rest of the county beyond those six townships, it doesn’t mean “issues” can’t show up in litigation, and if they do, “we can then put our effort into those issues.”

Gmoser also noted the expertise the county is asking from Taft Stettinius and Hollister LLP would not be limited to a 12-month window if a moratorium is enacted. 

County Administrator Judi Boyko said there has not yet been a decision by the commissioners to proceed with a moratorium, although she believes it’ll be discussed more thoroughly at one of the next two meetings.

The commissioners meet every Tuesday beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the second floor of the Butler County Government Services Center at 315 High St. in Hamilton. 

“The six townships all have submitted – to varying degrees – an interest to place a moratorium, and some are much stronger than others,” Boyko said. “What I’ve advised those residents or those trustees is that the commission has really taken a very deliberate and detailed approach to this matter and (are) wanting to ensure that they have an ample opportunity to have at least a little bit of information before they take this drastic measure.”

She said the decision to request the outside counsel was “parallel” to the decision to impose a moratorium.

“I think the more the commissioners learn, the more they’re going to be in a position to render a much more educated and much more confirmed manner,” Boyko said. “The commissioners are not going to study, study, study and wait before they decide to enact any moratorium. It’s likely that they will place the moratorium as they are doing the research.”

Trenton data center and zoning

The Trenton Planning Commission approved a site for the Prologis data center at 3000 Arnold Brown Industrial Drive during a meeting on March 30, for which site grading has since begun, according to City of Trenton Finance Director Matthew Mesisklis, although he said a vertical construction permit has not yet been issued to his knowledge. 

Additionally, the Trenton City Council voted during an April 16 meeting to execute an annexation petition for 600 acres of property located between Madison and St. Clair Township. The vote initiated the process through a petition but was not a final decision to annex the property or approve development. Boyko said a petition has not yet appeared in front of commissioners.

Mesisklis emphasized it is not the city but the property owners in those areas who are requesting to be annexed into Trenton, including Duke Energy Kentucky, Inc., Watson Gravel, Inc., Daniel and Kyle Rapier, and the city itself.

The pre-annexation agreement notes the annexed property from Watson Gravel and the city would be subject to the city’s zoning jurisdiction and require a zoning of the property to the city’s “IT - Infrastructure and Technology” district. Still, Mesisklis said he cannot speak to the owners’ intentions for the property, and the way the property will be zoned has not yet been fully determined.

Mesisklis said the city does not currently anticipate that the moratorium agreed to by Madison Township Trustees would change anything regarding the proposed annexation if imposed by commissioners.