Clark County approves new zoning rules for data centers
Clark County, Ohio, commissioners have approved new zoning rules to proactively regulate future data center developments. The new regulations classify data centers as a conditional use, restricting them to I-2 industrial districts where currently zero parcels exist. This measure aims to create a stringent approval process, requiring multiple public hearings and rezonings, due to the county's lack of authority to ban data centers outright.
Clark County, Ohio, commissioners, including President Sasha Rittenhouse, Charles Patterson, and Greg Kaffenbarger, have approved new zoning text amendments aimed at proactively regulating future data center developments within the county's jurisdiction. The decision, which followed a public hearing on July 8, makes data centers a conditional use, restricting them exclusively to I-2 industrial districts.
Deputy Zoning Inspector Stephanie Dunlap and Deputy Director of Development Alex Dietz presented the new guidelines. Dietz noted that currently, no I-2 zoned parcels exist in the county's jurisdiction outside of the cities of Springfield, Pike, German, and Springfield townships, meaning any future data center project would require a rezoning and multiple public hearings through the Board of Zoning Appeals, planning commission, and rural zoning commission. This process is intended to create significant hurdles for developers, a strategy highlighted by Commission President Rittenhouse.
Chief Legal Counsel Beau Thompson explained that while municipalities, cities, and villages can pass moratoriums, counties in Ohio lack the legal authority to ban data centers. The commissioners' action is thus a 'next best alternative' to manage development. Community members raised concerns about noise, lighting, rezoning, and water management, with one resident, Stacy Echelberger, sharing her negative experience with an existing data center's noise. Resident Melissa Rexroth has also started a petition to ban more data centers in Springfield city. The newly adopted regulations, detailed in Section 749 of the heavy industrial zoning rules, will become effective 30 days after approval and mandate specific conditions for data center approval.