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Clark County officials consider zoning change after resident raises alarm over data center acquisition
Summary
Officials discussed a proposed zoning text amendment to move data centers into I-2 heavy industrial districts after a resident, Diana Daniels, reported public records and LinkedIn activity suggesting a developer plans to expand a nearby data center from about 67,000 to 214,000 square feet, raising water-use and transparency concerns.
Residents, township trustees and county officials on April 22 discussed an apparent land transfer and possible expansion of a data center near Springfield that prompted calls for tighter local controls.
Springfield Township resident Diana Daniels told the commissioners she reviewed LinkedIn postings and county records indicating an acquisition in progress and said the proposal would "triple the capacity of the data center from 67,000 square feet to 214,000 square feet," a change she said would increase water usage and merited more public transparency. Daniels told the board she found references to the Community Improvement Corporation of Springfield, Clark County, in acquisition posts and expressed concern about developer-driven economic development outreach.
Community and Economic Development Director Ethan Harris said auditor records show the current site and adjacent acreage have transferred into the same owner name and that the parcels currently appear to be zoned township agricultural. Harris said planning staff will present a zoning text amendment next week that would place data centers in the county’s heaviest industrial district (I-2), which he described as the local government’s most restrictive option for limiting where data centers could locate. Harris cautioned he could not speak to city or township zoning decisions or annexation outcomes.
Commissioner Sasha L. Rittenhouse and legal counsel Beau Thompson reiterated that the board does not have legislative authority to ban data centers outright and that township and municipal zoning processes constrain county authority; the commissioners could, however, initiate a county zoning text amendment or adopt a nonbinding resolution expressing opposition.
Commissioner Charles A. Patterson said initial searches of auditor records on his phone showed the parcels were listed under CMH01 Holdings, not the CIC, and that commissioners who sit on CIC would have expected to be informed if CIC were involved. Pike Township Trustee Greg Kaffenbarger and Moorefield Trustee Daren Cotter reported local township-level activity to address data center concerns and the TIF process.
Public comment and staff remarks indicate the issue is at a pre-annexation, pre-development stage; county staff plan to advance a zoning text amendment through Rural Zoning and Planning Commission before returning to the commissioners for final action.
