Residents press Norton City Council to block proposed data center; council plans moratorium

Dozens of residents packed the Norton City Council chamber on Oct. 20 to oppose a proposed data center sited near a former limestone mine and to press city officials for more vetting and stricter zoning protections.

The most immediate demand from speakers was that the city halt future data-center permits. "They're gonna be running 24/7 — that means they're gonna be running while we're asleep at night...it's gonna make a lot of us, older people ... lose a lot of sleep," said Edward E. Stevens, a Barberton resident who said he lives within a half-mile of the property under consideration.

Why it matters: Speakers said the proposed site — described in the public comments as a roughly 92-acre parcel that touches several backyards and sits over an old mine — presents potential noise, safety and land-use risks for neighborhoods in Norton and nearby Barberton. Several residents urged council to require stronger vetting of developers and to increase setbacks in industrial zoning to keep large 24-hour operations away from homes.

Council response and next steps

City administration told residents it intends to prepare a moratorium on permits for new data centers in the affected…