Data center zoning change heads to Akron City Council for approval
Akron's Planning Commission unanimously approved a proposed zoning change for data centers, which now advances to the City Council for final approval. If enacted, the new regulations would require conditional use approval for data centers and mandate developers to assess impacts on the electric grid, water consumption, sewer system, and noise pollution. This proposal was crafted in response to community concerns and marks the first step in the city's process to define appropriate data center development.
Akron's Planning Commission has unanimously approved a significant zoning change affecting data center operations within the city, forwarding the proposal to the Akron City Council for final consideration. The new ordinance, if enacted, would categorize data centers as conditional land uses, mandating developers to secure specific approval. It would also require detailed assessments of a data center's impact on the local electric grid, water consumption, sanitary sewer system, and noise pollution.
The proposal was initiated by Mayor Shammas Malik's administration in response to community concerns regarding the potential negative effects of data centers. Planning Director Kyle Julien emphasized that this is an initial step in a broader process. Over the next six months, city departments plan to research how other municipalities are regulating data centers and to gather input from community stakeholders to further refine Akron's zoning code and approval processes.
Julien clarified that the proposed revisions would not affect data center projects already approved under current zoning laws, such as a recently approved expansion in South Akron. However, any new data center construction, expansion, property improvements, or repurposing of existing properties for data centers would fall under the new conditional use approval requirement if the ordinance passes.