Could a Data Center Come to Troy?
Vol. IV, No. 22 -- The City's Proposed Development Gives a Surprising Answer
On Friday, this publication finally received the draft version of Troy’s proposed Unified Development Code. The public has been waiting a long time for this document. On June 18, the Planning Commission will hold a work session to walk through the 332‑page draft and decide whether to move it toward a formal public hearing.
A first read turns up plenty of details about what the city is prepared to allow—and what it is not. One of the most striking new pieces is a land use that is both explicitly permitted and nationally controversial: data centers.
For the first time, Troy’s code would spell out where and how data centers can locate. Under the draft, they would be allowed in industrial zoning districts, but only on parcels of at least 10 acres. They would have to sit at least 1,000 feet away from hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, public and private parks, indoor places of public assembly, and public and private schools. They would also have to provide a “Type 3 – Heavy Bufferyard,” which is planner‑speak for intensive landscaping between the data center and adjoining properties. And before a project could move forward, the City Engineer would have to determine that the facility will not have an adverse impact on water quantity for existing water customers in both Troy and Miami County.
Those are not meaningless standards. They show that staff and the consultant recognize that data centers are not just another warehouse. They use huge amounts of electricity and water, and they generate noise and heat. The draft code does at least try to put some distance between these facilities and obvious “sensitive uses” like schools, parks, and hospitals.
But for a land use that has been controversial everywhere it has shown up, Troy’s first attempt at regulation is surprisingly thin.
The draft does not require any additional buffering specifically between data centers and nearby homes. It does not set tighter limits on noise or lighting from these facilities, even though residents around the country have reported constant low‑frequency hum from cooling equipment and sky‑glow from security lighting that never turns off. The code leans on a heavy landscape buffer, but says nothing about the round‑the‑clock operations that make living next to these facilities so difficult in the first place.
This is not an abstract, academic conversation. Data centers are the focus of a statewide effort to put new rules into the Ohio Constitution this November, and the General Assembly is studying the issue as well. Even if Troy does not have a data center proposal sitting on someone’s desk today, it is probably only a matter of time before communities like ours begin to see more interest. The industry follows cheap land, access to power, and access to water. Troy checks all three boxes.
That is why the details in this Unified Development Code matter. This document is not a white paper. Once adopted, it becomes the city’s rulebook. When—not if—a data center proposal comes through the door, these are the standards that will govern the conversation. They may be Troy’s best line of defense to make sure that new development does not undermine the health, safety, and quality of life of existing residents.
If there is no appetite on the Planning Commission or City Council to prohibit data centers outright, then the least the city can do is write a code that reflects what we know today. That means more than a minimum lot size, a landscaping requirement, and a water‑quantity sign‑off. It means:
Clear, enforceable noise standards that recognize the unique impacts of large, always‑on industrial cooling equipment.
Stricter lighting controls to keep security lighting on‑site and out of neighbors’ bedroom windows and night skies.
Generous and unambiguous separation from any residentially zoned property, not just from parks and schools.
Residents should not have to rely on ad‑hoc negotiations at the eleventh hour to get these protections. If Troy intends to welcome this use in industrial districts, then the protections should be baked into the law now, while the city still has the leverage that comes with uncertainty.
No one moves to a community hoping that a data center will be their next‑door neighbor. If Troy is going to open the door to this industry, the new Unified Development Code should at least make sure that door does not swing into someone’s backyard.
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