Episode 83 - Ron Grethel - Candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 62

We're going to start with Mount Orb.

Mount Orb is considering new data center zoning rules.

The data center debate is back in Mount Orb, where the Village Planning Commission unveiled a proposed high-tech overlay, or HTO, covering data centers and other high-tech developments on industrially zoned land.

The discussion centers largely on the roughly 1,000-acre megasite on the southeast side of Mount Orb, Commissioner Shane Ogden said DBSTU LLC purchased property within the site with the intention of developing a data center.

Earlier this year, Mount Oreb officials scraped the village's newer zoning regulations and imposed a moratorium on data center construction.

I'm sorry, let me repeat that because I mispronounced something.

Earlier this year, Mount Oreb officials scrapped, not scraped, I apologize, scrapped village's newer zoning regulations and imposed a moratorium on data center construction following sustained public opposition.

Planning Commissioner Mike Kirk said the proposed HTO is intended to put additional restrictions on any future high-tech development, including larger residential setbacks, restrictions on truck traffic from residential roads, lower building heights, tighter noise limits, restrictions on generator testing, and additional landscaping and screening requirements.

Residents packed the public meeting and WCPO reported that when one speaker asked who opposed a data center in Mount Orb, every hand in the crowd went up.

Yeah, people do not like these.

A major point of disagreement is whether Mount Orb needs new data center regulations at all.

Some residents argue that when the village repealed its 2024 zoning code, it reverted to much older zoning rules that do not specifically contemplate data centers.

And they want the village to determine what is legally permitted under those rules before adopting the overlay.

Mount Orb Data Center Committee member Wayne Reveal called for a formal legal opinion on what can currently be built under the village's industrial zoning before officials move forward with the HTO.

Nothing has happened yet.

Village administrators are expected to revise the proposed overlay based on public comments, and the Planning Commission plans to hold another public meeting hearing before deciding whether to send the rules to Village Council.

So, the larger question is, right now, whether Mount Orb adopts a regulatory framework designed to place tighter limits on a potential data center, or first resolves the legal question of whether such a project is permissible under its current zoning code.

So interesting developments there out in Mount Orb.

And again, those data centers will impact all of us.

So keep your eyes and ears open for stuff like that.