John Marra, Mayor of Timberlake
October 16, 2026
Ohio Must Keep Hyper Data Centers Away From
Our Neighborhoods
Ohio’s legislative hearings on data centers should have answered one basic question: Who gets to decide whether a massive industrial complex belongs near a family’s home? The answer should be the people who live there—not developers, utility companies or officials negotiating behind closed doors.
After following the Select Committee hearings, I came away convinced that residents’ concerns about noise, electrical demand, water, air pollution and property values were not given the weight they deserved. Ohio needs enforceable protections, not another round of industry assurances.
First, hyper data centers should be banned within three miles of established residential neighborhoods. Between three and five miles, only smaller facilities should be eligible for consideration, with strict limits on power demand, noise, emissions and water use. Beyond five miles, larger campuses could be considered—but only after independent studies establish that their environmental and infrastructure impacts can be managed. The greater the facility’s size and power demand, the greater the separation and safeguards required.
These distances are a proposed starting point for legislation, not a substitute for site-
specific science. A facility with thousands of megawatts of demand, extensive cooling equipment and large backup generators cannot be treated like an ordinary warehouse. Prevailing winds, terrain, water sources, nearby homes and cumulative development must all be examined before approval.
Second, communities must OPT IN—not be forced to fight their way out. No qualifying data center should proceed without an affirmative vote by affected local residents. I favor a 75% approval threshold for any exception to the residential buffer. No secret agreements, no automatic approvals and no shifting the burden to citizens after a deal is made.
Third, developers must demonstrate reliable power arrangements before construction, pay the full costs of any grid upgrades attributable to their projects, and disclose water use, wastewater handling, backup-generator emissions and round-the-clock noise projections. Independent experts—not consultants chosen solely by the applicant—should evaluate those claims, with enforceable monitoring after opening.
Data centers may bring investment and tax revenue. But economic development is not a blank check to industrialize residential communities or transfer costs and risks to families, seniors and small businesses. A project that cannot meet reasonable setbacks, earn local consent and prove it can operate responsibly belongs somewhere else.
Ohio lawmakers have a clear choice: protect neighborhoods before these projects are approved, or leave residents to live with consequences they never agreed to. Ban hyper data centers near homes. Establish a graduated three-to-five-mile buffer. Require local opt-in. Put public health and community rights first.
Categories: Community Activism, Lake County - General, Uncategorized