Findlay changes tactics on data center briefings

FINDLAY — The city of Findlay reversed course on its quest to gather information about data centers on Monday, after a closed-door meeting was cancelled last week due to public backlash. During regular session Monday, Councilwoman Nichole Coleman, R-1, was the first to request that a new informational meeting be scheduled, one the public can attend, "so we can all learn together," she said. Other council members quickly agreed, saying they were looking forward to attending the meeting, but the public should be included. The shift comes less than a week after a private virtual session arranged by Mayor Christina Muryn was scrapped just hours before it was set to begin. Muryn cancelled that meeting at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, sending a blanket email to council members and several city officials. In a statement later that afternoon, she said the decision was made "at the request of a number of city council members" who raised concerns about transparency. The virtual meeting had been set to begin at 4 p.m. The planned briefing was expected to feature the New Albany Economic Development group, a public entity that manages the New Albany International Business Park, home to Intel's $28 billion semiconductor campus. Muryn said New Albany officials have served as a resource for communities across Ohio and were prepared to share lessons learned from decades of data center development. The mayor's statement also included a link for the presentation New Albany officials were expected to present to council: datacenters.newalbanyohio.org. On Monday, Muryn said she wasn't sure the New Albany Economic Development group — also a public entity — would be willing to conduct an open meeting. Council has been actively discussing data centers for months. A 12-month moratorium on construction is in place until April 2027. Findlay officials have not identified any specific proposals for data centers within the city. The discussion comes as communities across the region have begun examining their zoning codes and questioning whether utility systems can support large-scale computing facilities. Locally, officials have acknowledged that data center construction would most likely take place outside city limits. Findlay's proposed rules would allow data centers only as a conditional use in a newly established I-3 Large Scale Industrial zoning district and require them to meet extensive infrastructure, environmental, and design standards. Facilities must be at least 1,000 feet from homes, schools, parks, hospitals, and similar uses and applicants must submit detailed studies on electric demand, water usage, wastewater discharge, stormwater, noise, traffic, emergency response, and full build-out impacts. The City Planning Commission must find that a project will not impair electric reliability, water or sewer capacity, emergency services, or surrounding properties. The ordinance also requires closed-loop or air-cooled systems unless an alternative is proven safe, limits noise at property lines, mandates full cutoff lighting, and requires screening, landscaping and architectural treatments along public frontages. Any expansion would require a new approval, and developers may be required to enter a binding development agreement covering infrastructure responsibilities, reporting and long-term operational commitments. In July, Matt Cordonnier, director of the Hancock Regional Planning Commission, said the proposed zoning would subject data center development to the most extensive review process the city has ever required. The city of Findlay is maintaining a public information page detailing discussions about the proposed zoning for data centers in the city on its website: www.findlayohio.gov, listed on the Zoning Department's sub-page. The page outlines why the city is creating regulations for large-scale data centers, how the conditional use review process would work within an I-3 Large Scale Industrial District, and the specific infrastructure, noise, safety, and setback standards developers would be required to meet. It also provides documents like the proposed ordinance and a public feedback form.