County planning board recommends New Russia Twp. 'mega site' rezoning plan

The Lorain County Planning Commission on Thursday recommended rezoning of eight out of nine parcels of land on the so-called "mega site" in New Russia Township to the "industrial park" designation for future development. The commission recommended by a 7-2 vote that the township rezone most of the 662 acres of property from residential and general business designations to industrial park, or IP. Two members of the 11-member planning commission were not present for the final vote, coordinator Christin Brandon said. The county planning commission's recommendation is advisory only. That recommendation now goes to the New Russia Township Zoning Commission for consideration. Brandon said the county planning commission recommended eight of the nine parcels be rezoned. The parcel it recommended not be rezoned, one of six owned by Ceres Farms, would have created property "islands" — residential property surrounded entirely by industrial park. The township zoning commission will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Feb. 10 at the township complex at 46300 Butternut Ridge Road to consider Liberty Development's application on behalf of four land owners. Appointed by the elected township board of trustees, the commission will hear public comments at that time. Brandon said the township zoning commission is not required to follow the county planning commission's recommendation and may come to its own independent conclusions. The township zoning commission can vote to approve the request, approve it with modifications, or deny it. The township board of trustees has the final say. The nine-parcel application is the second involving the land. Liberty Development represents landowners Ceres Farms, Huron County Holdings and Richard Pleasnick. It previously asked the township to rezone eight parcels, before withdrawing that request and refiling it Jan. 2 with a ninth parcel included. That additional 40-acre parcel on Russia Road just west of Oberlin Road is owned by the Simms family and is zoned residential. That application and a map of the property will be available for examination from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 31 to Feb. 10 at the New Russia Township administrative offices. No plans for development of the mega site have been announced, but critics say they fear an artificial intelligence data center will be built there. An AI data center is a special facility built for large-scale computer processing, data storage and analysis to support advanced AI now found in many computer programs and online search engines. Data centers use large amounts of electricity and water for cooling. Lake Erie is a large, natural source of water nearby, and it and the other Great Lakes have drawn AI data centers to states surrounding them Hundreds of people showed up at a township zoning commission public hearing in December to object to the proposed rezoning of 622 acres for the mega site. The county planning commission recommended the zoning commission approve that rezoning, too. Critics allege that an AI data center will cause pollution, create regional water shortages and drive up electricity costs. Ceres Farms is owned by WisdomTree, a company that invests in AI data infrastructure. Other concerns include the loss of farmland, construction noise, traffic and the loss of the township's rural feel. A Change.org petition in opposition to the mega site had 4,973 signatures on it as of 5:30 p.m. Friday. Proponents of development at the mega site and the nearby Lorain County Regional Airport include the Lorain County commissioners. They have said they hope to bring millions of dollars in investment and new jobs to the county. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.