Shalersville’s Zoning Commission on Sept. 10 approved a handful of amendments to the township’s zoning code that could affect a contentious proposed data center campus.
The commission added any use “that may create occasional, objectionable or hazardous elements such as smoke, noise, humming vibration, odor or dust observed beyond the property line, and having some outside storage, or capable of using or generating power at a rate greater than or equal to 25 megawatts” to its definition of heavy industrial usage.
Shalersville does not currently have any land zoned for heavy industrial usage.
The data center proposed by Geis Companies and Bitdeer Technologies Group would draw 750 megawatts, well beyond the 50 megawatt benchmark Ohio law defines as a major utility facility.
The commission also added to the township’s definition of light industrial usage to specify that manufacturers on such land are limited to using or generating power at a rate less than 25 megawatts.
Manufacturing uses must be “relatively clean, quiet, and free of objectionable or hazardous elements such as smoke, noise, humming, vibration, odor, or dust,” all of which must be contained within the property lines. All equipment must operate and be stored within enclosed structures and must generate little industrial traffic and no nuisances.
Geis and Bitdeer representatives have repeatedly acknowledged that noise from the proposed data center campus, which would be sited on land zoned light industrial, would extend beyond the property line. Geis has formally proposed that the campus be permitted to exceed current ambient noise levels by 10 decibels.
The commission also specified that manufacturers on land zoned light industrial may produce small goods “that will be sold to the people who use them rather than to another manufacturer.” The Geis/Bitdeer facility would gather data that would be sold to various commercial clients.
Acting on the county Regional Planning Commission’s August objections, the commission jettisoned its previous proposals that heavy industrial use be defined as any use with excessive power demand or excessive water use and that light industrial be defined as any use not having excessive power demand or excessive water use.
It defined excessive power demand as any aggregate monthly demand or peak load of 25 megawatts, no matter how it is derived.
Regional Planning Commission Director Todd Peetz characterized that language as too vague. He presented the current language, which he said the county prosecutor’s office supports.
The zoning commission also proposed additional tweaks to the definitions section of Shalersville’s zoning code, among them what a battery energy storage system is and what a closed loop cooling system is.
The new language defines “community noise equivalent level” as the 24-hour average sound from midnight to midnight, obtained after the addition of 5 dB to sound levels occurring in the evening from 7-10 p.m. and after the addition of 10 dB to sound levels occurring from 10 p.m.-7 a.m.
The commission also proposed defining decibels both in and out of the range of human hearing. Additional definitions pertain to electrical substations “within or separate from a data center” and to “sensitive receptors:” people and facilities that may be especially vulnerable to nearby industrial, commercial or unpermitted uses “as determined by the zoning officer.”
A public hearing to discuss zoning text amendments pertaining to definitions of land zoned as light and heavy industrial is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Shalersville Town Hall, with a trustees’ meeting immediately afterward.
The trustees may adopt the proposed amendments or table them pending receipt of additional information. The township Zoning Commission's next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 8, also at the Town Hall. The trustees also have a regular meeting planned for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Town Hall.
Conditions
The township Zoning Commission is also tasked with establishing conditions any applicant must adhere to if they want to set up business on land zoned as light industrial. A citizen’s group recently presented the commission with 60 conditions, and Geis offered its own 21-point proposal.
“One of the most specific things they want is to make noise 10 decibels higher than the current noise. We said light industrial makes no noise. Light industrial is quiet,” Peetz said.
The decibel scale is logarithmic, meaning a 10 dB increase translates to a 10-fold increase in actual physical sound intensity.
A 2008 Ohio Turnpike Commission noise mitigation study states that homes near the turnpike experience 65+ decibels on a daily basis. That’s about the sound of a normal conversation. Seventy-five decibels would approach the sound of a vacuum cleaner, all day, every day.
Peetz said the trustees want the results of an ongoing sound study they commissioned before they proceed. Thornton Acoustics & Vibrations, a Pittsburgh-based sound study company, is monitoring ambient noise for a week in six to 10 locations across the township, some of them close to the Ohio Turnpike and some adjacent to the proposed campus.
The firm will also review Shalersville’s existing zoning code and documentation relevant to the proposed campus, provide technical guidance to develop and implement a “fact-based community noise ordinance” and review, assess, rebut and critique any noise studies or models the developer provides.
Mike Cyphert is a member of the citizen’s advisory group that is unaffiliated with the township. Originally conceived of as an arm of the township, it was quickly disbanded when legal issues got in the way. It still meets and still provides the trustees with research and information.
Cyphert said the idea is to “protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents,” mostly those adjoining the property and those within a mile of it. He hopes all 60 conditions will be adopted, but understands such may not be the case.
That will be up to the Regional Planning Commission, the township Zoning Commission and, ultimately, the township trustees.
Peetz said he will examine the citizens’ group’s and Geis’ proposals, match “all the good ideas” with what he believes the township wants and present what he terms a “hybrid” proposal to the Regional Planning Commission board. Upon its approval, the document will advance to the township Zoning Commission, then to the trustees for final adoption.
The Regional Planning Commission will hold its Oct. 14 meeting at 4:30 p.m., location to be determined. Peetz said previous meetings that involved the data center campus exceeded Shalersville Town Hall’s accommodation capacity. A “more neutral” venue would also be desirable, he said.