Defining data centers in 43040 | Union Co. farmers chomping at the bit | Space Day at one local school thanks to Amazon

The City of Marysville, Ohio, is undertaking a significant effort to define data centers within its zoning code, a process spurred by the ongoing construction of a new Amazon Data Center in the Innovation park. Currently, the city's zoning code lacks a specific definition for data centers, having previously grouped them with traditional call centers, which officials deem inadequate for modern "hyper-scale" facilities. On Tuesday, the Marysville Planning Commission moved to separate data centers from call centers in the zoning rules. City Planning Director Ashley Gaver explained that this change aims to return to the original intent of the 2020 zoning code update, which focused on call centers. By removing "data processing" from the call center definition, the city is preparing to create a new, distinct category for data centers. Until this new definition is established, any company proposing a data center will need to go through a specialized Planned Unit Development (PUD) negotiation process. City officials, including Ms. Gaver, emphasized that creating a permanent data center definition is a top priority as Marysville updates its Comprehensive Plan and zoning code over the next year. Commission members also voiced the need for more education on the data center industry, particularly concerning its impact on local water and electricity supplies. In the past, the absence of a clear definition led developers of projects like Marysville East and Marysville South to draft their own data center rules, a practice the city now seeks to control for consistency.