Ashville council adopts emergency 180-day moratorium on data‑center zoning and approves independent review of power-asset modeling

The Ashville Village Council voted to adopt an emergency 180‑day moratorium on zoning applications related to data centers and to authorize an independent review of power‑asset modeling used in project filings.

At the start of the meeting the council’s President Pro Tem summarized action taken in executive session, saying the village had discussed a proposal from engineering consultant GAI to "fact check EdgeConnex's and PowerConnex's submissions to the Ohio Power Siting Board, making sure that the modeling that they're doing is as accurate as it can be." He said the council would amend Section 1 of Resolution 12 TAC 2026 and direct the village administrator to negotiate an addendum to GAI’s scope of services.

Councilors moved to amend Section 1 of Resolution 12 TAC 2026, then voted to waive second and third readings and declare the resolution an emergency. After a roll call the council adopted Resolution 12 TAC 2026 as amended and as an emergency, directing staff to negotiate the GAI addendum.

The council then introduced Ordinance 2026‑14, which the text describes as imposing a 180‑day moratorium "on the receipt, processing and issuance and approval of any application for a zoning certificate related to data center processing, hosting and related services." Councilors moved for first reading, then subsequently moved to waive second and third readings and declare the ordinance an emergency. Councilors voted to adopt Ordinance 2026‑14 as an emergency.

The public record presented at the meeting includes council discussion that the GAI review will focus on the modeling and that Ohio State researchers offered to perform a literature review on air and noise related to data centers at no cost to the village. The President Pro Tem told councilors Ohio State’s literature review (valued about $9,000) would be funded by Ohio State and that a more in‑depth air‑quality study (~$64,000) could be possible later if grant funding became available; council voted to permit Ohio State to begin the literature review and to be conceptually aligned for future partnership if external funding is secured.

Public commenters raised health and environmental concerns tied to emissions and cumulative impacts. Kim Akison, who identified herself as an emergency‑room nurse, cited numbers included in an EdgeConnex permit prepared by Trinity Consultants — for example, she read figures in the record as "153 tons of nitrogen oxide, 291 tons of carbon monoxide, 402 tons of fine particulate matter, 123 tons of ammonia per year, [and] 10,172 tons of CO2 per year" — and urged residents to submit comments to the Ohio Power Siting Board.

The ordinance and the resolution do not themselves decide approval or denial of any data‑center application; instead, the moratorium pauses local zoning processing while the village pursues additional review of technical materials and planning options. The council did not vote on a local referendum at the meeting; several residents urged that referendum petitions certified by the Board of Elections be returned to the ballot, but the record shows no formal council action to place a referendum before voters during this session.

The council also approved a separate, non‑related administrative item to authorize a $7,000 annual membership in P3 (a village membership reported by committee) and admitted a tax‑administrator report into the record before adjourning. The council concluded the meeting after those motions.

What happens next: the ordinance was adopted as an emergency (immediate effect under local procedure as stated in the text) and the village administrator was directed to negotiate the GAI addendum per the amended resolution. The Ohio State literature review will proceed with the university’s funding; a potential larger air‑quality study would require outside grant funding and is not guaranteed to be available in time for filings with the Ohio Power Siting Board.