ST. BERNARD, Ohio — For the next year, the village of St. Bernard is hitting pause on new data center developments.
Village Council unanimously approved a 12-month moratorium on data centers last week. Mark Wendling, the director of public safety and service, said it gives village leaders time to look at how data centers could impact the community.
"This gives us time to make that determination of what the right course forward is for the village," Wendling said.
The decision comes as a proposed data center is already under consideration for part of the old Procter & Gamble Ivorydale facility. The proposal calls for a 150,000-square-foot data center with 24-megawatt capacity.
The building is owned by CAI Investments. At last week's council meeting, attorney Thomas Breidenstein, who represents the company, said it's a small proposal compared to others.
"This is not a hyperscale campus of large tilt-up buildings for a data center use," Breidenstein said.
WATCH: Residents voice concerns about a proposed data center as St. Bernard leaders consider the future of the site
He said the company has been looking for a use for the property for more than two years.
"The data center is the only viable project that has come forward to date," Breidenstein said.
Several residents spoke out against the data center proposal at Thursday's meeting.
"If we allow a tiny data center, if we give them an inch, they're going to take a mile," said St. Bernard resident Danielle Mitsch. "This is about our community's health. It's not just about St. Bernard. It is about the communities around us."
However, Wendling said the moratorium doesn't stop the proposal because CAI Investments already applied for approval before the moratorium passed.
He said the proposal will still get a hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals on Oct. 12.
Still, Breidenstein claimed the moratorium could hurt the future of the site.
"If this moratorium takes effect, there is a genuine risk of foreclosure to this property," Breidenstein said.
Wendling said the village knows the property's future is important. He said the moratorium gives leaders time to figure out what comes next.
"We believe that there's a lot of potential for the site beyond just a data center," Wendling said.
