By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
In response to citizen concerns and unknowns about the actual impact of data centers, several local townships have adopted temporary moratoriums on such developments.
Of Wood County’s 19 townships, seven have adopted moratoriums and eight more have discussed doing so. Two townships are unzoned, and two others have zoning in place intended to prevent data centers from building there.
The moratorium discussions started showing up at township meetings in the last few months, as residents became increasingly concerned about the impact of the $800 million Meta data center stretching out over miles of Middleton Township.
Though just a temporary stop, some saw moratoriums as an opportunity to hit pause on more data centers.
As of Friday (March 13), the townships where trustees have approved temporary moratoriums are: Freedom Township, surrounding Pemberville; Henry Township, on the west side of North Baltimore; Lake Township in the northeast corner of the county; Liberty Township, the area around the unincorporated community of Rudolph; Plain Township, just to the west of Bowling Green; Portage Township, to the east of the village of Portage; and Weston Township, around the village of Weston.
Townships where the trustees are considering moratoriums on data centers are: Bloom Township, around village of Bloomdale; Center Township, to the east of Bowling Green; Grand Rapids Township in the northwest corner of the county; Milton Township, around villages of Custar and Milton Center; Perry Township, in the southeast corner of the county; Perrysburg Township, southeast of Perrysburg and Rossford; and Washington Township, surrounding the village of Tontogany.
The two townships completely unzoned are Montgomery Township, which surrounds Bradner and Wayne, and Jackson Township, which is in the southwest corner of the county.
An official from Troy Township said that township has zoning in place that prohibits data centers, and a trustee from Webster Township said that its zoning only allows agricultural uses.
Rod Lucas, a Liberty Township trustee who is also president of the Wood County Township Association, said many of his colleagues are considering the moratoriums in order to prevent problems that may come with large data centers.
Even in cases of very rural townships, some trustees are eyeing the temporary halt just in case.
“We’re farm oriented,” Lucas said of Liberty Township. “We just don’t have the infrastructure. We’re not set up for that.”
Bloom Township Trustee Jim Carter said his township is contemplating a moratorium.
“We’ve discussed this briefly. We’re doing our research,” he said.
That research includes a survey of township residents on data centers – with results still coming in.
“We want to get our public viewpoint,” Carter said. “We’re still collecting that.”
Shad Ridenour, a trustee in Center Township, said officials in his township are working to “get educated” on what a moratorium would mean. Outside counsel has been consulted about the pros and cons of such legislation, he said.
“This is the first time we’ve ever done this,” Ridenour said.
Montgomery Township Trustee Jerry Houtz Jr. said his township is one of two in the county to still have no zoning. But he’s not too worried about a data center locating in his township.
“I don’t think anything south of Route 6 would be feasible,” he said.
However, Houtz does see the value of zoning overall – but the township residents have twice rejected ballot issues for zoning. “It was never even close,” he said of the vote.
“For whatever reason, residents in our area have not been supportive of any zoning,” he said. “The trustees’ hands are tied.”
Trustee Steve Powell said Washington Township is in the process of exploring a moratorium.
“We’re in the investigative stages,” he said, explaining the township is looking at environmental impacts, noise issues, energy requirements, and electric and water demands for data center sites. “So we’re doing it with our eyes open.”
Powell said the trustees haven’t heard from residents wanting a moratorium, but added, “we’ve not heard from anyone saying, ‘Boy, we’d sure like to have a data center here.’”
Freedom Township officials adopted a moratorium in January. Township fiscal officer Julie Getz said the trustees wanted time to research the impacts of data centers and to gather input from residents.
“They want to do what the residents want,” Getz said.
Weston Township Trustee Randy Tolles said his township also adopted a moratorium.
“We just don’t want to see it coming to the township,” he said.
Grand Rapids Township fiscal officer Sarah Schwind said her township trustees have not decided yet.
“They’re still in discussion,” she said.
Henry Township fiscal officer Matt Davis said his township adopted a moratorium.
“The trustees wanted time to evaluate data centers,” prior to one popping up, he said.
Earlier this week, Lake Township officials adopted a one-year moratorium, reportedly in response to information about a potential data center site for sale in the township.
Also this week, Plain and Portage townships adopted moratoriums. Portage Township Trustee Donald Zeigler said his township had been approached about a possible site for a data center or wind farm. Plain Township Trustee Jim Rossow said his township acted after some residents voiced concerns last month.
“We had it on our radar in February,” Rossow said.
Fiscal officer Jane Stearns said Perry Township has not taken any action on a moratorium, but said, “it’s been discussed.”
The same goes for Milton Township, where Trustee Nathan Wilhelm said, “well, we’re thinking about it. I personally don’t think it’s (a data center) a good idea. It consumes a tremendous amount of resources, and at the end of the day, for what?”
The two townships that have likely seen the most pressure from the public for moratoriums are Perrysburg Township and Middleton Township. Neither have taken action on such legislation.
Residents of Perrysburg Township have asked that a moratorium be adopted, but trustees have cautioned that even if they did, a moratorium would be invalid in the unzoned areas of the township. The township has attempted at least three times in the last two decades to zone the unzoned areas, however, voters have soundly rejected zoning each time.
Perrysburg Township Trustee Bob Mack has also pointed out that a data center could economically benefit the township because such facilities pay substantial property tax on the structure, often have their own fire suppression systems and employ only a handful of people. Unlike retail, industrial and commercial establishments which often require frequent police, fire and EMS services, data centers would require far fewer services, Mack has said.
Residents in Middleton Township have also asked their officials to adopt a moratorium. But unlike other areas in Wood County, Middleton Township officials have concerns that the second phase of the Meta data center project under construction may be affected by a moratorium.
In Troy Township, zoning inspector Brooke Hahn said changes in the township’s zoning ordinance “prohibit” data centers.
And Webster Township Trustee Jim Cajka said township officials have discussed the refusal of any tax abatements to projects like a data center, which would “make it difficult” for developers.
“We’re all agriculture, so we don’t really want to open up a can of worms,” by adopting a moratorium, Cajka said.
