Residents urge Pataskala City Council to scrutinize proposed JRS-site data centers over utilities, traffic and noise

Two residents told the Pataskala City Council that proposed data or distribution centers for the former JRS site deserve closer review, raising concerns about utility capacity, traffic, building scale and environmental impacts.

At the Jan. 6 meeting, Bernie Brush (5530 Columbia Road) said the applications he has seen appear speculative and lack clear ownership details. "They're gonna put up maybe 5 buildings and maybe 10 to 20 workers," Brush said, and warned the buildings could be "65, 70 feet high" near Broad and Main. He asked the council to consider setbacks, traffic impacts on Broad Street and whether the community wants large, windowless distribution or data buildings at that gateway location.

Another speaker, Shelley Marie (114 Royalty Drive), told the council she has followed reporting on data centers statewide and said her main worries are water consumption and noise. "It generates a lot of electricity, a lot of use, a lot of noise," Marie said, and said neighboring communities have struggled to keep windows open because of equipment noise. She also raised ecological concerns, saying some reports suggested data centers can interfere with migratory bird paths.

Brush and Marie cited utility constraints in their comments. Brush said, "AEP says right now they don't have the electricity to bring in here," and questioned whether planned pipeline and backup gas would be adequate. Neither speaker presented a formal developer plan or named operators during their remarks; both characterized much of the information as speculative and said they would follow up with details and sources.

Why it matters: Council members must assess whether proposed industrial-scale facilities fit local land-use rules and community goals and whether infrastructure improvements (roads, electric, water) would be required and who would pay. Residents asked for clearer information about developers, building heights, traffic mitigation and utility capacity before approvals move forward.

What the council did: The speakers' comments were part of the citizen-comment period; the council did not take immediate formal action on the JRS site at this meeting. Staff and planning staff were referenced in later reports about upcoming planning meetings; council members encouraged citizens to attend planning commission discussions and noted the topic could return for formal review.

Next steps: Residents were invited to provide written sources and documentation to the city (Shelley Marie said she would email her references). Additional planning and land-use review were indicated as the process that would follow if a formal application is filed.