Findlay Council Member Warns of Rushed Data Center push, Allen Township Annexation Blueprint
FINDLAY- A scheduled closed-door meeting between city officials and representatives from New Albany has been canceled following pressure from local lawmakers demanding public transparency over a controversial proposed data center project.
While the meeting cancellation was confirmed via a statement from Mayor Christina Muryn, conversations with members of council revealed greater concerns with regards to the level of transparency that went into scheduling the meeting. Findlay City Councilmember Danny DeLong confirmed the cancellation, which came just one hour after he and Councilmember Rodney Phillips formally requested that Mayor Christina Muryn either open the session to the public or call it off entirely.
The meeting was intended to brief officials on the regional impacts of data centers. However, it drew immediate backlash from council members wary of a closed briefing amid mounting public skepticism over the infrastructure demands of massive technology facilities.
"We thought that this was going to be bad, that it should be opened," DeLong said, adding that previous presentations from state economic development officials focused strictly on marketing the positive attributes of data centers while omitting community downsides.
The friction over the canceled meeting highlights a broader, administrative push to establish formalized data center zoning ahead of a city-wide moratorium set to expire next April. Council member Danny DeLong expressed concern that the administration is rushing the legislative process, which requires three formal readings before council, to clear a path for the development.
A central point of contention rests on land in nearby Allen Township, where the massive data center facility is currently proposed. Because the target site is currently zoned for agricultural use, township residents have fiercely resisted industrial rezoning efforts. DeLong expects developers will circumvent local township zoning entirely by petitioning for the land to be annexed into the City of Findlay.
"That would be a big thing for the owners of this property to get annexed into the city so it could get zoned different," DeLong said. He warned that annexation often brings hidden municipal burdens, noting that the cost of extending city infrastructure can quickly outpace new tax revenues.
Beyond regional zoning battles, DeLong cited severe, unresolved infrastructure and environmental questions regarding the data center's strain on local resources. Delong cited massive energy projections of 600 to 900 megawatts, raising concerns that the power consumption could exhaust the local grid and freeze out other economic development.
Water supply remains another critical flashpoint. While the proposed facility would be barred from tapping local groundwater under current zoning drafts, it would rely heavily on Findlay's municipal reservoir. DeLong questioned the long-term impact on natural resources, as well as the capacity of water treatment facilities to monitor and recycle chemical solvents or PFAS contaminants stemming from required system flushes.
According to DeLong, constituent feedback has been overwhelmingly opposed to the project. DeLong noted that a public inquiry he posted to social media regarding a separate data center project in Bowling Green drew more than 24,000 views without a single positive comment from residents. Subsequent town halls held at a local library and restaurant mirrored that pushback.
Fears of a speculative technology "bubble" have also fueled legislative caution. With much of the needed microchips currently being manufactured by way of China and Taiwan and shipping times protracted due to energy shortages from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, many data center projects sealed through paper agreements are expedited to meet long delays before being operational.
DeLong compared the risk of over-building massive data structures to the decline of mid-century shopping malls, warning that global supply chain constraints for microchips could leave municipalities stuck with deteriorating, vacant concrete hulls if developers face financial distress.
To safeguard the city, DeLong stated he will demand rigorous decommissioning plans be baked into any final zoning language. He also pledged to vote against any proposed tax abatements or public subsidies for the tech developers.
"I honestly think we need to take our time and we don't need to rush this zoning," DeLong said, urging the council to monitor moving legislation at the state and federal levels before making final local rules.
