PIERCE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A new data center proposal in Pierce Township turned what was scheduled to be a regular Zoning Commission meeting into an hour-long referendum on how the controversial facilities should be regulated Tuesday.
People packed the Locust Corner Elementary School gymnasium to get their turn telling Zoning Commission members what they'd like to see done to limit the potential impact on utility rates, water consumption, noise levels, lighting and more.
To get inside, just about everyone had to pass through a net of Pierce Township residents passing out fliers against them being welcomed to town.
Kathy Cummins told us she was against the facilities being built in Pierce Township for many reasons, but the location of Crane Data Center's 300-acre proposal directly across US 52 from the now-closed Walter C. Beckjord Generating Station, still contaminated with toxic coal ash, was the most concerning.
"That's what makes this site particularly challenging," Cummins told us before the meeting began.
WATCH: Pierce Township residents pack a meeting on data center rules with a proposal looming
A Crane representative told us after their presentation to Pierce Township Trustees that they had considered building on the Beckjord site, but ruled against it due to the ongoing contamination.
We asked another member of the group passing out fliers, Bruce Cummins, what he thought about a deal allowing Crane to move in if they agreed to clean up Beckjord.
"If the site was remediated, the coal ash was removed, I think that's a different conversation," he said.
Bob Hucker told us he attended the meeting because he was against any new large-scale data center construction.
"People need to know about this," Hucker said.
Zoning Commission Chairman Jeff Stitt told the crowd before public comment began that they have been tasked with establishing data center rules for the entire township, and no official application had been submitted. Therefore, he said there was no specific project they could address directly.
When asked about Crane's proposal, Stitt said that was not a formal submission they could review.
"There is no one who has submitted an application, so there is no area planned," he said. "That was just an area someone expressed concern in."
That sentiment was echoed weeks earlier when Pierce Township Trustee Allen Freeman talked with our I-Team.
"It's basically a sales pitch, but it was not a proposal. It wasn't a zoning request. It doesn't even rise to that level, so we're not entertaining it," he said.
At Tuesday's meeting, Freeman pledged transparency as the Zoning Commission built data center regulations and the trustees considered them.
"This stays open. This stays transparent. Anything that we discuss, you're not going to see an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) that's going to block it," he said.
Stitt urged patience as the process could take months to complete.
"We don't want to make a snap decision because we live here," he said.
Pierce Township has a moratorium on data center construction through May 31, 2027. Stitt said if the rules aren't prepared by the time the moratorium expires, it could be extended.
Click here to see Crane's full presentation.
