Chillicothe residents will get a formal say in how the city writes zoning rules for data centers at a public input meeting set for Monday, November 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Yoctangee Park Armory Building, 199 N. Paint St., Mayor Luke Feeney announced at Monday night’s City Council meeting, October 26.
The session will gather public input on zoning for data centers, data halls, battery backup storage systems and cryptocurrency exchange and mining facilities, according to Councilwoman Kathy Dunn, who chairs council’s Engineering Committee and serves as an at-large member. Feedback from the meeting will be used to draft a new section of the city’s Unified Development Code, Dunn said.
Data centers have dominated Chillicothe’s government agenda for much of this year, drawing large and sometimes heated public turnout at council meetings as residents have raised concerns about power use, water consumption, noise and the effect of a large facility on the community, while others have spoken in favor of the jobs and investment such a project could bring.
City officials have used a moratorium process this fall to buy time while permanent regulations are developed, and the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce submitted guidance to the city’s Planning Commission last month as officials weigh how to regulate the facilities, according to council reports. Feeney has said previously that the city had not received any data center zoning applications.
The November 16 meeting is structured as an input session rather than a vote: residents will be heard first, and their comments will shape the draft code language that council and the Planning Commission then consider. The Armory venue, in Yoctangee Park, gives the city a larger room than council chambers for what officials expect to be a well-attended discussion.
For Ross County residents, the stakes are practical. Zoning language written now will govern where a data center or battery storage facility can locate, what setbacks, screening and noise standards apply, and how much infrastructure a developer must pay for — questions that are far harder to revisit after an application is filed.
Residents who cannot attend can follow the issue through City Council and Planning Commission agendas. After the input meeting, the draft Unified Development Code section is expected to move through the Planning Commission and council in public session before any final adoption.