The Plain City Village Council had its first reading on a one-year moratorium on data center development in the village at an Aug. 5 special meeting.
The Plain City moratorium, if enacted, would be the latest in a series of anti-data center measures communities around central Ohio have enacted amid a national groundswell of opposition to the facilities. Grove City approved a one-year moratorium of its own in June, while residents of Sunbury and Pataskala will vote on data center bans in their communities in November.
If enacted, the village would not accept applications for any developments that include data centers for one year, starting the day the ordinance is approved by council. The moratorium is meant to give the village council time to research, study, develop and implement zoning and development regulations for data centers, according to the ordinance.
Village council did not discuss the moratorium during its first reading. An initial draft of the moratorium called for it to be enacted as an emergency measure at the Aug. 5 meeting, but Village Council President Tyler Harriman said the council wanted a second reading on the legislation and would declare an emergency then.
An emergency declaration would allow the moratorium to take effect immediately. The Plain City Village Council’s next regular meeting is Aug. 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the village’s municipal building at 800 Village Boulevard.
Transportation and neighborhoods reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com, @NathanRHart on X and nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Plain City Village Council introduces possible one-year data center moratorium
Reporting by Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
