Record · Local legislation
Allen Township proposed Section 1521 — DATA CENTERS, and the Section 1520 replacement (ATZC Resolutions 24-04-124M / 24-04-125M, heard 2026-08-19)
allen-twp-data-center-amendment-2026
Fields
title
Allen Township proposed Section 1521 — DATA CENTERS, and the Section 1520 replacement (ATZC Resolutions 24-04-124M / 24-04-125M, heard 2026-08-19)
status
proposed
jurisdiction
Allen Township, Hancock County, Ohio (unincorporated)
authority
R.C. 519.12 — amendment initiated by resolution of the zoning commission
initiated_by
Allen Township Zoning Commission (ATZC)
resolutions
- number 24-04-124M
- subject adds a new Section 1521 — DATA CENTERS, plus definitions into Section 201
- adopted 2026-07-28
- source_file data/documents/findlay/governance/Res.DataCenters.pdf
- sha256 a9cff4ae5cae71ab68150d599be883c853e89b0c0b676101730357c6d9dfdfe2
- moved_by John Timmerman
- seconded_by Dan Kissell
- roll_call
- Timmerman yes
- Stacy yes
- Powell yes
- Kissell yes
- McGrain yes
- vote 5-0
- attested_by Deb Stacy, Secretary
- hearing 2026-08-19 at 7:30 p.m., Allen Township Center, 12829 St. Rt. 613, Van Buren
- note Attachment A's own "Resolution No. ____" line is left BLANK; the number appears only on the two resolution pages. Handwritten throughout.
- number 24-04-125M
- subject REPLACES Section 1520 (Energy Storage Related to Wind and Solar Facilities) with a technology-neutral Section 1520 — Energy Storage Systems
- adopted 2026-07-28
- source_file data/documents/findlay/governance/Res.ESS_.pdf
- sha256 f4e4ac399eb47f4a8d097f20b906c5334e61df1295e875b671d4c1f6b850abd1
- hearing 2026-08-19 at 8:00 p.m., same location
- note [inference] The replacement matters independently of its limits: the ADOPTED Sec. 1520 only reaches storage "related to wind and solar facilities," so storage sited to firm a large computing load arguably fell outside it altogether. The amendment closes that by dropping the wind/solar tether.
- number [open]
- subject clerical corrections — moves Zoning Commission duties to the Board of Zoning Appeals, renumbers the duplicated Section 1201, adds pools in A-1
- adopted 2026-07-28
- hearing 2026-08-19 at 7:00 p.m., same location
- note Its resolution PDF was not captured (only the notice page). ⚠️ It is not cosmetic and it is not severable from the data-center amendment — see `interlock` below.
proposed_section_1521
- permitted_in
- I-1
- I-2
- mechanism Conditional use only. "No person shall cause, allow or maintain the use of a Data Center or Data Center Campus without first having obtained a conditional zoning permit from Zoning Inspector after approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals in accordance with section 1802."
- lot_and_yard
- data_center_to_data_center_separation_ft 5280
- residential_separation_ft 1250
- max_lot_coverage_pct 60
- max_building_height per the schedule of regulations
- landscape_buffer_ft 50
- cooling
- permitted_verbatim All data centers shall be air cooled (dry cooling).
- prohibited_verbatim
- Evaporative cooling systems, including cooling towers, evaporative condensers, and adiabatic cooling systems that consume water through evaporation;
- Once-through cooling systems that withdraw water and discharge it without recirculation.
- Closed-loop liquid cooling systems, where water or coolant is continuously recirculated within a sealed system and is not consumed through evaporation.
- water
- groundwater_verbatim No regulated use shall utilize groundwater wells, private wells, or other subsurface water sources for operational or cooling purposes.
- permitted_sources
- a municipal water and sewer system
- an approved public utility provider
- verification_required written verification from the water utility provider demonstrating adequate system capacity to serve the proposed use without negatively impacting existing users
- max_daily_gpd 100000
- electrical
- max_total_facility_load_mw 10
- measurement_basis
- utility interconnection agreements
- electrical engineering plans
- nameplate capacity of installed equipment
- phased_development_verbatim Developments constructed in phases shall be considered a single site if: Located on contiguous parcels; or Sharing electrical infrastructure, substations, or utility interconnections. The combined load of all phases shall not exceed the 10 MW limit.
- nuisance_standards
- noise_dba_at_property_line 40
- lighting_footcandles_at_property_line 0.5
- vibration_odor_heat No vibration, odor, or heat perceptible beyond the property line.
- emergency_generators May operate for testing and maintenance between 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. weekdays only, except during power outages.
- anti_circumvention_verbatim The Zoning Administrator requires submission of ownership, lease, and utility agreements to determine common control. No data center development shall be artificially divided into multiple parcels, entities, or applications for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of this section.
- common_control_factors
- shared ownership or management
- shared infrastructure
- coordinated development plans
- utility service arrangements
- definitions_verbatim
- data_center A facility designed and used primarily for housing computer servers, data storage, networking, or related equipment for the purpose of storing, processing, or distributing electronic data. Data centers shall not be considered warehouses, storage facilities, or distribution centers for zoning purposes. Such facilities may include ancillary offices for employees, network operations, and limited support functions, but shall not include general office space, call centers, or telecommunications towers as the principal use.
- data_center_campus A group of data center buildings and associated infrastructure located on one or more adjacent parcels under common ownership or control and functioning as an integrated development.
- warehousing The business operation, or institution of the storing of goods, or merchandise.
drafting_record
- date 2026-04-07
- source data/documents/findlay/governance/Minutes-4-7-26-ATZC.pdf
- event Four weeks before the referendum, Timmerman asked counsel whether the proposed resolution would permit a data center. "Cindy stated that a data center would not be permitted." (Lucinda Land, Assistant Hancock County Prosecutor.)
- date 2026-06-02
- source data/documents/findlay/governance/Minutes-6-2-26-ATZC.pdf
- event Three weeks after the resolution took effect, Land "recommended that language be drafted for the zoning resolution to state the location, requirements and conditions regarding data centers and battery energy storage systems, BESS."
- date 2026-07-07
- source data/documents/findlay/governance/Minutes-7-7-26-ATZC.pdf
- event Stacy circulated data-center language "written by Hancock County Regional Planning on behalf of Washington Township"; Timmerman circulated his own draft "that followed a pattern similar to the wind and solar sections in our adopted zoning resolution book." A special drafting meeting was set.
- date 2026-07-22
- source data/documents/findlay/governance/Minutes-7-22-26-special-ATZC.pdf
- event The drafting session. Timmerman "merged information from Washington Township's language ... and the information that John compiled and wrote on behalf of Allen Township"; "Definitions included in Washington Township's language will become a part of Allen Township's language." The ESS draft was NOT finished — "more time was needed to gather information" — yet both topics were carried into the August 19 hearing.
- guests_present
- Jacob Mercer, Hancock County Regional Planning Commission (author of the Washington Township language)
- Justin Kahl, Hancock County Assistant Prosecutor
- Dan Smies, On-Site Partners
- Jon Cross, Cross Capital Consultant
- note [verified] that these four attended and are so described in the minutes. ⚠️ The minutes give no affiliation detail beyond these strings, and this repo does NOT here assert who any guest was there for. See the OnSite lead in data/site/findlay/leads.yaml — the similarity between "On-Site Partners" and the OnSite entity in the One Power corporate chain is a name match only until an instrument confirms it.
Where it connects
findlay/governance/allen-twp-data-center-amendment-2026.zoning.yaml · — · findlay