ATHENS, Ohio — Citing the need for urgency, Athens City Council suspended the rules and unanimously adopted a one-year temporary moratorium on data centers in the city.
Ordinance 70-26 applies to data centers for artificial intelligence as well as ones primarily directed at vast quantities of digital data storage.
The ordinance states that “immediate action is necessary to prevent the establishment of data centers while the city conducts a comprehensive study of the land use, infrastructure, environmental, economic, and community impacts of such facilities, and develops appropriate regulations to address them.”
At the request of Mayor Steve Patterson, language in the ordinances includes giving the mayor and/or service-safety director the option to extend the moratorium by another year. Patterson said a firm will be selected to work with the city on assessing data center impacts.
Patterson said the urgency was to ensure that data center regulations are in place before an actual data center proposal comes before the city.
“We’ve all seen how quickly this popped up in Athens County already out across from Athens High School on U.S. 33,” Patterson said. “The question I’ve heard, ‘Well, could this happen in the city of Athens?’ Well, it could — it could, unless we have safeguards in place, and we are able to do the research.”
New-York based Saadia holding LLC has spoken with local officials about regulations on about 300 acres in Athens and Dover townships for a potential data center. Because the county has no zoning regulations, the project could bypass local government approval.
Athens Township and the Athens County Commissioners have since passed moratoriums on data center development, and the Athens County Economic Development Council has stated that data centers are not part of its long-term strategy.
During the council’s committee of the whole meeting, council President Pro Tem Jessica Thomas said a former council member, Michele Papai, brought the issue to the council’s attention via email. Papai asked if the council had considered addressing the potential for data centers within the city.
Thomas said she then asked the city law director to prepare moratorium language during the council’s July recess.
Patterson said both the National League of Cities, of which Athens is a member, and the National Conference of Mayors, “are recognizing that data centers are coming at us fast and furious, in a lot of ways,” adding, ”industry is looking more and more to rural areas in the United States, areas throughout the Appalachian region.”
During the public comment period on the ordinance, Athens resident Aimee Delach about data center energy consumption. Delach said the one-year moratorium aligns with a group she belongs to that focuses on environmental and sustainability goals.
Aurora Charlow said any data center’s potential impact on local air quality is something that would give her reason to reconsider Athens as a permanent home.
Rob Delach said he agreed with the moratorium, but that not all data centers are inherently bad. Some could have economic benefits and would be regulated by zoning codes. Delach chairs the Athens Board of Zoning Appeals.
“I think that done right, it could be a good idea,” he said.
Council member Michael Wood, 3rd Ward, said he does not want the city’s one-year moratorium to give local residents the false sense of security that data centers are not coming to the local area. Each local governmental entity affected must do its part to address the issue, he said.
Council member Paul Isherwood, At-Large, said the city isn’t ready to consider data centers, their environmental impacts being just one issue.
Patterson said he will keep the council and the public “100% informed” as to the status of the city’s data center research and analysis.
Community pavilion project scrutinized
The City and Safety Services Committee on Monday discussed the first phase of the Athens Community Pavilion, funded by a $300,000 state reimbursement grant. During its regular meeting, the council unanimously adopted Ordinance 73-26 approving funding for phase one of the pavilion project.
The pavilion will be used for summer recreation activities and serve as a permanent home for the Athens Farmers Market. It is to be constructed behind the Athens Community Center, where the former tennis courts are located.
The first phase involves site preparation, including engineering, construction costs, excavation and paving. Phase two, construction, is estimated to cost approximately $800,000 to $1 million, subject to funds raised from donations and sponsorships. Overall, the Athens Community Pavilion is estimated to cost about $1.2 million total.
So far, about $100,000 in private fundraising has been raised through an ongoing capital campaign, with the city establishing a special fund to draw capital outlays from. Per the ordinance, the city will transfer $300,000 in capital improvement funds to the special fund.
Wood said he fully supports the project. However, he said he didn’t understand why the ordinance had to be passed using emergency rules.
Katherine Ann Jordan, director of Athens Arts, Parks and Recreation, said the city needs to either spend the full $300,000 by June 30, 2027, or show the state that it can do so. The city also needs to prepare a purchase order so that BDT Architects can continue its design work. Project bids likely won’t go out until October, she added.
Jordan said some city projects have received “no bidders” because of the low dollar amount available for such projects, requiring feedback from firms that had been interested in bidding. From there such projects are “recalibrated” before bidding resumes, a process that takes time.
Wood also expressed concerns that the city might be “on the hook” for the project, depending on how much is privately raised.
Isherwood, who chairs the City and Safety Services Committee, said all the city’s only responsibility is the $300,000 for phase one.
Wood said he definitely sees the city as “on the hook” for a substantial part of the project’s costs, if money cannot be raised to complete the project entirely. The city has had three years to get the project started, he added.
Patterson and city Treasurer Josh Thomas, however, said the city will expend $300,000 in site preparation funds up to and including paving, but not be responsible for funding beyond that — as phase two relies on private funding.
“We are only committing to phase one,” Josh Thomas said. “The farmers market knows that; everyone understands that.”
Leslie Schaller, director of programs at ACEnet, said she has seen the Athens Farmers Market grow through a commitment among its vendors. She has been one of the market’s staunchest advocates, working on a permanent home for the market since 1999.
Currently, Schaller said, donations are being raised ranging from $25 to $5,000, with sponsorships also sought.
“I want to see this come to fruition for everyone who has championed this,” Schaller said. “Does it feel a little daunting? Yes, but we will get there.”
Wood also noted that the pavilion would not contain bathrooms. Jordan said portable restrooms can be used. A demonstration kitchen and full bathrooms were cut from the project because they would have pushed the cost to up to $4 million, she said.
Other business
In other matters Monday, the council:
- Suspended the rules and adopted Ordinance 71-26, which extends an agreement with Athens County for services of the public defender’s office through June 30, 2027, at a cost of just under $120,000. Funding will come through the general fund, with just over $54,000 coming from the 2026 general fund and $65,000 from the 2027 general fund.
- Amended Ordinance 68-26, which authorized design and construction of a public safety training facility, by adding $40,000 to the total cost of the project, now at $5.12 million, due to damage to a road during the construction process.
- Heard an update from Patterson on several ongoing city infrastructure projects. Richland Avenue will be closed Aug. 10–Sept. 10 at Dairy Lane while the city completes placement of a large, new sewer line. The new line work extends from Dairy Lane to the lift station at the Richland Avenue bridge, where the sewer line will go under the Hocking River and connect with lines reaching the city waste water treatment plant. Patterson said he will keep affected businesses apprised of progress. Patterson said the new line involves a “deep dig” at a depth of 20–25 feet to bury the sewer line.
Athens City Council’s next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10 at Athens City Hall, Council Chambers, third floor, 8 E. Washington St. Meetings are also streamed online. Regular sessions are on the first and third Mondays of the month; committee meetings are on the second and fourth Mondays.
