Pataskala City Council to Hear Data Center Proposal Amid Resident Opposition and Planned Ballot Vote

The Pataskala City Council is set to hold a public hearing on August 25 for a proposed data center site plan by Aligned Data Centers in the Pataskala Corporate Park. This hearing comes after sustained resident opposition, including multiple petition drives aimed at banning large data centers, which will culminate in a Nov. 3 ballot issue for Pataskala, Granville, and other central Ohio communities.

Mayor Mike Compton acknowledged the possibility of delaying a council decision due to the upcoming ballot issue. He has been actively sharing facts about data center development on social media, emphasizing that the corporate park is the designated area for industrial use, including data centers, and that proposed projects from both Aligned Data Centers and Microsoft would not seek tax abatements or "steal" farmland. The Mayor also highlighted Aligned Data Centers' plans for on-site electricity generation via natural-gas-fed fuel cells, connecting to American Electric Power, and a "closed-loop" cooling system that would not draw from local water resources.

Despite the planning staff's recommendation for approval, the Pataskala Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-2 in June to recommend that the City Council reject Aligned Data Centers' site plan. The commission expressed concerns over noise and heat studies provided by the company, with members like Anne Rodgers suggesting independent reviews. Aligned Data Centers, represented by David Robinson and Joseph Giannini, maintains the site is ideal due to its industrial zoning and proximity to power, and has made design changes to address community concerns, including reducing buildings from four to three and adding visual buffers. The company projects significant property tax revenue for the city and new employment, with an estimated $34.4 million annually in property taxes when fully built.