Slowing Down Data Centers
Vol. III, No. 189 - Putting a moratorium on gives the community time to learn about what these centers can do
Given the recent events of the happenings in neighboring communities when it comes to data centers, something has become abundently clear: Troy should adopt a six‑month moratorium on standalone data centers. This mortatorium isn’t to shut these centers out completely, but knowing that the community is currently rewriting its zoning code, this moratorium will give the community the opportunity to understand the full local impacts of this industry, and then decide—on its own terms—whether these projects belong anywhere in the city or only in the M‑3 heavy industrial district, as it currently exists.
Troy is already in the middle of big choices about its future. The city’s proposed 2026 budget shows looming pressure on the General Fund, with expenses rising faster than revenues and major capital projects, like downtown reconstruction and park improvements, already queued up. Those commitments reflect a long‑standing strategy: invest in quality of life, basic services, and traditional economic development to keep Troy attractive and fiscally stable. Dropping a new, power‑hungry land use into that mix—without clear local rules—risks undercutting those priorities. A short pause is not a rejection of technology; it is a way to make sure the zoning code catches up with the scale of what is coming.
There is also a local precedent for doing exactly this. Earlier this year, Troy used a temporary moratorium on group homes to give staff and council time to evaluate impacts and tighten the zoning framework. Other Ohio communities are now doing the same with data centers. In Union County’s Jerome Township, trustees unanimously approved a nine‑month moratorium on new data centers to protect infrastructure, focus on higher‑value development, and update the rules before more projects slipped through. If townships can recognize the need for a pause on a rapidly evolving land use, Troy should not pretend it can safely improvise case‑by‑case while its zoning rewrite is still in motion.
While there are no known data centers coming to the community, the stakes are not theoretical. Both Sidney and Piqua are already in line for new data center investments, and the region as a whole is becoming part of the national AI and cloud build‑out. That regional pipeline means the question for Troy is not whether data centers exist, but under what conditions they are allowed here and how much of the burden local residents will be asked to carry.
And honestly, the way other communities have treated data centers have put residents out in the cold. Complex Tax Increment Financing agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements and other “incentives” that have been used to “lure” these companies to our region have largely been negotiated not for the benefit of the community, but rather for the benefit of the companies that are developing these data centers.
This not to say there needs to be a full-stop to these centers, but a community conversation that can help our City understand what these centers are what the benefits and the drawbacks are to these facilities. A six‑month moratorium gives council time to learn from what happens in those nearby communities—on noise, water, grid impacts, and emergency services—before Troy ends up locked into standards that put data centers first and residents last.
Environmental sustainability is one of the biggest unanswered questions. Modern data centers demand enormous amounts of electricity, and national studies warn that, if current trends continue, these facilities could consume water equivalent to the annual use of tens of millions of people and drive a large share of future power‑sector emissions. Locally, that translates into louder substations and cooling equipment, heavier strain on an already stressed grid, and the possibility of higher residential rates as utilities scramble to finance new capacity for a few large customers. Without a moratorium, Troy could approve standalone data centers before it has even debated basic guardrails on noise, water withdrawals, backup generation, and grid capacity.
Job creation is another place where the marketing does not match reality. Data centers are capital‑intensive and labor‑light: analyses of utility data show that each megawatt of power serving a data center supports fewer than one direct job, compared with roughly 25 jobs per megawatt for more traditional commercial and industrial customers. Jerome Township’s trustees put it bluntly when they justified their moratorium by pointing to “minimal jobs and a low return on investment” for the host community. For a city like Troy that is already counting every dollar to fund street repaving, parks, and public safety, tying up scarce industrial land and utility capacity for land uses that generate few jobs and modest tax revenues deserves more scrutiny than a simple “yes” vote at either the Planning Commission or City Council level.
If council ultimately decides not to adopt a moratorium, it should at least draw a bright line in the zoning code: standalone data centers belong only in the M‑3 heavy industrial district. That step would acknowledge what these facilities actually are—large, noisy, infrastructure‑intensive plants—not just another “office” use. Heavy industrial zoning already anticipates higher impacts and provides more distance from neighborhoods, parks, and schools. Reserving data centers for M‑3 areas would keep them away from places where this technology is going to have less than an impact.
Troy has built its community over decades by taking time to ask hard questions and match land‑use decisions to community values. Right now, the city is rewriting its zoning code, deciding major capital investments, and wrestling with long‑range budget constraints—all while a new, resource‑intensive industry circles the region.
In that context, a six‑month moratorium on standalone data centers is not radical; it is responsible. It gives Troy space to listen, to learn from other communities, to craft clear rules, and to decide whether these facilities ever belong inside the city limits—and if they do, to confine them to the M‑3 heavy industrial district where their impacts are most appropriate.
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I'll go you one better then that. Instead of a a 6-month moratorium? Why not a 12 month an 18-month or even a 24-month moratorium? These things are utility hogs and to be honest with you, they're not needed in Troy. I would hope that during this rewrite of the zoning code, the city fathers realize that and find a way to eliminate the possibility.