Chillicothe will ask residents to help write the rules for a kind of development its zoning code does not yet name, hosting a public open house on Monday, Nov. 16, as the city weighs land use standards for data centers, battery energy storage systems and cryptocurrency mining operations, Mayor Luke Feeney announced in a city news release Tuesday, J News Network reported.
The open house runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Armory in Yoctangee Park and is free and open to the public, the city said. The evening begins with a brief overview of how other Ohio and regional communities are approaching such facilities, after which residents can share ideas, questions and concerns and speak one-on-one with city staff and the city’s planning consultant, according to the release.
The gap the city is trying to close is definitional: under Chillicothe’s Unified Development Code, adopted by City Council in October 2025, data centers are not specifically defined and are therefore subject to interpretation, the city said. Officials are exploring whether the facilities should be recognized as distinct land uses, with standards suited to their community impacts.
“Data centers and similar facilities are new to many Ohio communities, and Chillicothe needs clear rules that reflect what they are and how they affect the people who live near them,” Feeney said in the city release. “Before anything is written, we want to hear from our residents. I encourage everyone to join us at the Armory on November 16 and share their ideas.”
The effort is led by the city’s Department of Planning and Development, working with American Structurepoint, the firm that helped create the development code, the city said. The Scioto Valley Guardian reported last month that the Nov. 16 session grew out of council discussion of draft zoning language for data centers, data halls, battery storage and cryptocurrency facilities.
The timing is not abstract for Chillicothe. The city has spent months debating how to handle large computing facilities while a planned artificial intelligence campus at the former paper mill site moves toward its first customers — a project NewsForce247 covered earlier today in our story on the mill site’s AI timeline. Clear definitions in the code would govern the next proposal, whatever and wherever it is.
Public input from the open house will help guide any language added to the code, the city said. Draft language would then go to the Planning Commission for review before heading to City Council for consideration. Residents who want more information before Nov. 16 can email the mayor’s office or call city hall, the release said.