Sheffield Village Council drops consideration of ordinance regarding data warehouse

Legislation that could have potentially allowed a data warehouse to be built in Sheffield was removed from Monday night's agenda and will no longer be considered. The ordinance was first brought up last fall. After a second reading, the legislation was tabled multiple times as village officials weighed possibilities, pondered public sentiment and researched data centers in other communities. "As we continue to review this — and we will continue to review this — we found that the legislation itself was weaker than we would like it to be," said Mayor Bob Markovich. Prior to Monday's meeting, Markovich said legislation regarding data centers and warehouses would be further examined by the village's legal department. "We want to continue our due diligence," he said. "We want legal to continue its due diligence." The ordinance that was pulled specifically addressed the permitted uses on land in Sheffield zoned for industrial use. Markovich said the removal of the ordinance was his decision and, following that, he informed Council. The legislation that was removed from Monday's agenda will not be considered again. However, Markovich said Village Council can draft different legislation on the matter later. "We want to make sure that we're not missing anything," he said. "We want to make sure that if we choose to do something and allow it in an industrial area, we want to make sure that we have the gold standard, that we have the teeth of the law with us." Members of the public have spoken out against the allowance of data centers and warehouses in the village. About 30 community members filled the seats of Council Chambers at a mid-March meeting as they lobbied officials, many of whom touched on environmental concerns related to data warehouses and data centers. Specific concerns touched on by residents regarding a possible data center included its effect on utilities, such as water and electricity. At previous meetings, Sheffield officials said they had visited other communities that had existing data centers. Markovich said Monday that he and members of Village Council will continue to research the topic, including tours of facilities in New Albany and Marysville. At Monday's meeting, Council member John Hunter acknowledged that — while this legislation cannot advance — different legislation can be created by the village at a later date. "It can't be brought up again like it was," Hunter said. "It means that there has to be a total new piece of legislation starting from the beginning." Sheffield officials also noted that the owner of the property in connection to the original legislation was made aware of the village's decision to remove it. "He said he wants to do what's right for the village," Hunter said of the landowner. "That's important to know," Markovich said. "There is nobody knocking on our door saying … 'We want to bring a data center.' Nobody's doing that." Sheffield officials also pointed to potential pitfalls in the village's zoning code. Without further clarification or changes to the village's zoning code, officials said a property could argue that something such as a data center is already allowed. "There's nothing that even says in our ordinance right now that we have a business park. We need to do the zoning to designate what that is before you can decide what's going to go in it," Hunter said. "Other than that, it's I-1(Industrial). It's the same as the other I-1s throughout the village. So there's a lot of things that need to be looked at before we move ahead." Contact Garrett Looker at glooker@chroniclet.com.