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Resident urges moratorium on Broadlink data center, cites generator noise and environmental concerns
Summary
A Pataskala resident asked the council for a moratorium on the Broadlink data center project until after the November election, saying residents should decide on permitting data centers over 25 megawatts and raising noise and environmental concerns.
A resident urged Pataskala City Council to impose a moratorium on the Broadlink data center project until after the November election so voters can decide whether to allow data centers larger than 25 megawatts in the city.
"I'm here to ask for a moratorium for the Broadlink project, so after the November election," Brandon Bernard (speaker 5) told the council during the public-comment period. He said he visited a data center site and recorded a generator test that "sounded like a train went by," and he said he would play the clip later.
Bernard warned the council about long-term land-use and environmental effects, saying that areas that were formerly farmland have seen rapid growth marked by clusters of data centers in nearby communities. He cited ongoing litigation and referenced a reported $20.5 million settlement in Oregon involving environmental and water claims as a cautionary example.
The council did not take immediate action during the meeting on the request. The comments were recorded during the public-comment portion of the agenda; no ordinance, motion or timetable for council consideration of a moratorium was announced in the transcript.
