Twinsburg council enacts 12-month moratorium on data-center permits after extensive public comment

Twinsburg City Council unanimously adopted an emergency ordinance April 14 placing a moratorium of up to 12 months on accepting, considering or issuing zoning or occupancy permits for data centers as a principal use.

Residents filled the council chamber during the audience-participation period to press the council for a pause and deeper study. Will Hollingsworth urged passage of a "full 12-month moratorium" to allow the city time to study cooling systems and water use in modern data centers. Lori Facina told council members that schematics and poster-board evidence show a data center already exists in Twinsburg and urged a permanent ballot measure to prevent future similar facilities. Several residents raised groundwater-recharge, noise, heat plume and pollinator impacts and asked for resident-led review and clearer code definitions.

Council members said they had heard sustained public concern and framed the moratorium as a pause to evaluate zoning definitions, environmental impacts and regulatory options. Council moved to suspend the three-reading rule for Ordinance 202665 and adopted it as an emergency by recorded vote 7–0. Councilmembers emphasized the measure is intended to buy time for review and to protect neighborhood quality of life while staff and the planning commission evaluate code changes and technical studies.

Speakers who supported study included Lin Clark, who highlighted risks to private groundwater wells from increased impervious surface; Jonah Pette, representing the environmental commission, who described upcoming Arbor Day/Earth Day events and commission membership changes; and Kathy Ouma, who urged creation of an ad hoc resident committee to develop a ballot pathway. Several speakers with information-technology backgrounds, including J.R. Lewis and Adam Sundarski, urged the council to use precise technical definitions that distinguish small server rooms from large, campus-scale data centers.

Mayor Scapiti and council members thanked residents for extensive participation and said they would work to ensure the moratorium period is used to gather technical data, consult with experts and improve transparency around posting of caucus and legal materials. Councilmembers disputed that the action was "anti-business," framing it as a deliberate, temporary step to examine zoning language, potential environmental effects and mitigation options before permits or certifications move forward.

The ordinance takes effect immediately as an emergency action. Council discussed but did not finalize a process for a resident advisory group; some councilmembers asked the administration to return with a plan for community engagement during the moratorium period. No final code amendments were made at the meeting; the moratorium pauses permitting and directs staff to study impacts and report back.