As data centers fill former cornfields in New Albany, Jersey Township and other areas of Licking County, one township is ready to put up the “not welcome here” sign.
St. Albans Township officials are asking the Licking County Planning Commission to approve a zoning change that would effectively ban the construction of data centers in the township next door to Jersey Township.
The commission is scheduled to review the request at its next meeting at 6 p.m. on Feb. 2 in the basement of the Licking County Administration Building, 20 S. 2nd Street in downtown Newark. The meeting originally set for Jan. 26 was postponed because of the winter storm on Jan. 25.
The move comes at a time when there is increasing concern in central Ohio about the rapidly growing number of data centers in the region. Of the 194 data centers in Ohio, 113 are in central Ohio, according to Data Center Map, a site that tracks data centers around the world.
Jerome Township in Union County and Washington Township in Franklin County – both near the City of Dublin – each approved temporary moratoriums on data centers in 2025. The Village of Ashville, south of Columbus in Pickaway County, also enacted a temporary ban in December.
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The proposal by St. Albans Township, which currently has no data centers, would be effectively a permanent ban by eliminating the allowance for them in the township zoning code.
According to a report by the Licking County Planning & Development staff, the township is proposing to remove “Internet Publishing and Broadcasting; Telecommunications; Internet Service Providers, Web Search Portals, and Data Processing Services; and Other Information Services” from the conditionally permitted uses of Sec. 1502 of its zoning code.
“In doing so, this will remove these types of uses from the zoning resolution entirely,” wrote Jay Fisher, assistant planning manager. “With the township no longer having a Manufacturing District in which these types of uses may be more appropriate, the proposed change eliminates those uses from the resolution.”
St. Albans Township Trustee Tad VanNess said the request reflects the sentiments of township residents.
“A lot of it boils down to the reaction of the citizens not wanting that type of use,” he said. “They’ve made it pretty clear during the election season and prior that data centers are pretty prevalent in Jersey Township and elsewhere. And in St. Albans Township, our topography is different. It’s not nearly as flat or well-suited for that type of use.”
He said the reactions of residents about what is happening in townships around them is “pretty overwhelming.”
VanNess said that beyond the concerns about how much land, electricity and water they consume, he is concerned about what will happen to them when the next leap in technology occurs – “that if they become obsolete, we’re left with the skeletons of what was.”
“Anytime you get a whole lot of one thing, it should be of concern,” VanNess said.
The Licking County Planning & Development staff review of the St. Albans proposal says the proposed amendments to the St. Albans Township zoning code generally match the spirit and intent of the township’s adopted comprehensive plan.
“The proposed modifications to the zoning resolution may provide for good planning practices if amended to be consistent with the powers granted to the township through the Ohio Revised Code,” Fisher wrote in the staff review.
“As amended, the proposed changes will provide updated standards for the citizens of St. Albans Township,” Fisher wrote. “Based on these findings, staff recommends non-binding approval of the proposed zoning changes with the following two conditions: 1) That the township clearly establish a public record that explains the reasoning for the removal of particular uses from the zoning resolution; and 2) That comments provided by staff and the County Prosecutor’s office are considered as part of the township review.”
The Licking County Planning Commission will consider the St. Albans Township request and the staff recommendations on Feb. 2.
Alan Miller writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.
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