'Mega site' hits a roadblock

The proposed "mega site" in New Russia Township brings to mind the classic question of which came first, the chicken or the egg? In using this metaphor, we'll say that a requested zoning change is the chicken and the potential development at and around the Lorain County Regional Airport is the egg. As Dru Siley, vice president of development for Liberty Development, acknowledged at a New Russia Township Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday, potential tenants for the mega site "won't even talk to us until the zoning is in place." Siley's comment came as he was addressing concerns about rezoning more than 600 acres of privately owned land to accommodate the mega site when no one knows what will go there. (Liberty Development is representing property owners seeking the zoning change.) If the developer can't say what will be built there, it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to persuade suspicious residents to change their minds about rezoning. And, from what Siley said, the developer can't say because it won't know unless the new zoning is in place. (He did say the developer would work with the township and go "above and beyond" zoning requirements.) Although the Zoning Commission rejected the request to change the zoning from agricultural and residential to industrial, the final decision falls to the township trustees. They didn't respond to a reporter's request for comment Wednesday, but their previous comments suggest they aren't in favor of the mega site. If the trustees do end up rejecting the rezoning request, that doesn't necessarily mean the mega site is done for. For one, the property owners and developers might sue to try to force the rezoning. For another, the county commissioners, who control the airport, are huge proponents of the mega site. Commissioner Dave Moore has essentially said it is inevitable. Even if adjacent land isn't rezoned, it's possible that the airport, which the county has talked about expanding, could be redeveloped. Moreover, the county has been awarded $67.4 million in state funding to help pay for upgrades to water and sewer utilities that are necessary to make large-scale development possible at the site. (The county is required to contribute another $22.5 million in local matching funds.) Among the plans for that money is the design and engineering of a new wastewater treatment plant to support the mega site. That plant also could help Vermilion address issues at its wastewater treatment plant, which, if the new plant is built, could become a pump station. A new wastewater treatment plant would create other development opportunities on the county's west side as well. State Rep. Kellie Deeter, R-Norwalk, who represents New Russia Township in Columbus, suggested that the commissioners "pause and reconsider" accepting the state money, which is tied to the mega-site location. "I encourage county leaders to explore whether adjustments can be made that still meet the program requirements while better reflecting community input," Deeter said in a news release. The commissioners didn't seem interested in Deeter's suggestion. They countered that the sewer improvements were necessary not only for the mega site, but to address environmental concerns, including protecting the Lake Erie watershed. Their other argument, which they've made before, is that the mega site has long been public knowledge. They seem irked about the opposition to the project that has coalesced in the past year. Among the concerns raised by residents is that the mega site would change the character of the rural area surrounding the airport. Many have argued that they moved to the township to live among the farms, not next to industry. Not only would agricultural land be paved over to make way for industrial development, but roads would likely need to be widened to accommodate increased traffic. Some residents are worried about the impact on their property values. Residents also appear concerned about potential environmental impacts from whatever might end up being built at the mega site. Those concerns are exacerbated by the lack of information about what might come to the mega site if the development moves ahead. Liberty Development has pitched the mega site as a future home for advanced manufacturing. Siley did say Tuesday that the site was "not being set up as a data-center campus." However, one of the property owners has a connection to a company that invests in data-center infrastructure. The rise of artificial intelligence has led to a rapid build-out of energy- and water-intensive data centers, which bring with them concerns about the environmental impact and fears that utility rates will skyrocket. For as much as the commissioners have argued that the project has been under discussion in public for years, they've said remarkably little about what might end up there. Moore has suggested he'd like to see the mega site become home to companies in the aviation and defense sectors. He's also said he would prefer to see 10 companies employing 500 people each rather than one company employing 5,000 people. The commissioners also have said that they don't have a deal in place. Even if they did, it's likely that they would be bound by confidentiality agreements, which are common in economic development, that would prevent them from saying much, if anything, about such a deal. The mega site and the number of jobs Moore has talked about would generate tax revenue and perhaps even spur further development, but, as residents have recognized, they would change the character of the township. It's possible, we suppose, that if residents knew more about what the mega site would become, they might be more willing to consider it. More likely, though, residents have heard enough and concluded that they'd prefer that the mega site remain an unhatched dream.