ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio — A prospective data center project could skip local review entirely if its developers choose land in specific parts of the county, according to an Athens Township trustee.
“Athens County is basically void of land use regulations/zoning to address this situation or anything related to how a property owner might develop/use their property,” Athens Township Trustee Steve Pierson told the Independent in an email on Saturday.
The only restrictions on land use, Pierson said, are regulations related to floodplains and subdivisions. “Save a small portion of Athens Township, there are no land use regulations in any of the 14 townships nor is there any county-wide zoning,” he added.
Saadia Holding LLC, based in New York, has communicated with local officials about 292 acres on six parcels across U.S. 33 from Athens High School.
About 59% of that land lies in Athens Township and would fall within The Plains zoning district. Under current zoning regulations, Athens Township land for a prospective data center would likely be categorized as a “general business district.” This zoning classification would dictate fence structure, material and equipment storage, shade tree placement, parking and setbacks.
However, if the developers choose to purchase the 121 acres in Dover Township, no local government entities have to review the project, Pierson said. That land is not in the special flood hazard area and are not subject to state law regulating subdivisions.
In that case, the only reviews and approvals would come from state agencies: the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, for stormwater runoff management and sewage disposal, and the Ohio Department of Commerce for compliance with state building codes, Pierson added.
The Athens County Regional Planning Commission had already flagged lack of zoning as something that could attract potential data center developers to Athens County, commission president Jack Pepper told the Independent.
“There really are not a lot of guardrails in place, particularly in counties like Athens where there’s no countywide zoning policy that governs some of these spaces that don’t fall under village or municipality regulation,” said Pepper, administrator of the Athens City-County Health Department.
In anticipation of possible data center development, Pepper said, the planning commission formed an ad hoc committee in April to study data centers. So far in 2026, data center projects have been proposed in Jackson, Washington, Guernsey and Pike counties, among others. Few counties in southeast and east Ohio have zoning outside of municipalities.
On July 14, a Saadia representative emailed county planner Connor LaVelle for information about zoning, required documentation and utility information. County officials later discussed the proposed project with Saadia in a teleconference.
Among those officials was Athens City Planner Meghan Jennings, who told the Independent that these “prospective development meetings” are a standard practice to inform companies about relevant zoning and development regulations.
“[Saadia Holding LLC] have not submitted anything formal,” Jennings said. “They were just inquiring about the processes that would be necessary in order to get a development application reviewed and potentially approved for a data center use on the property.”
Public response
Pepper also emphasized the importance of public comment on data centers and related projects. Earlier this week, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency announced it would not move forward with proposed changes to permitting that would have allowed data centers to dispose of wastewater in state waterways. The agency had received over 7,000 public comments and bipartisan political opposition to the move.
“I think that there’s a window, probably a tight one, but there’s a window to still have some influence [on data centers in Athens County] if that’s what people are inclined to do,” Pepper said.
Pierson told the Independent that he has received “20 emails, all in opposition but none from Athens Township residents and a few from residents of the City of Athens which technically is part of Athens Township but not the unincorporated area where the zoning regulations apply.”
The Independent’s social media posts on the possible data center attracted hundreds of comments. Many of those comments appeared to oppose the project, although the idea had its supporters as well.
Athens County Treasurer Taylor Sappington was among those that commented in opposition to the project. “Do I have this right? New York says that this giant corporate data center is too dangerous to be in New York,” Sappington wrote. “So I’m supposed to believe it would be safe and an asset for our County?”
County resident Megan Marie suggested the community needed to take measures to oppose the project. “Ok, someone needs to organize us all to find a formal way to oppose this, like right now,” Megan Marie commented.
An anti-data center petition on Change.org had 1,770 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
Not every comment was opposed to the idea of the prospective data center. Those in favor of the project often cited job creation.
“Build Baby Build !!! It’s going to happen somewhere, why not welcome the benefits. I can’t live in Athens because there are legit no jobs,” commented Josh McGraw, who grew up in Athens County.
Dozens of area residents turned up Tuesday morning for the Athens County Commissioners meeting; the possible data center was on their agenda. The topic also is on the agenda for Tuesday night’s regular meeting of the Athens Township trustees. The Independent will publish coverage of both meetings this week.
