Pataskala City Hall was packed Wednesday night as residents turned out to push back on a proposed Aligned Data Centers campus planned for farmland near East Broad and Mink streets. Speaker after speaker warned city officials that the project could strain local utilities, reshape the area's rural character, and bring more truck traffic, and several organizers said they are gearing up for a petition drive.
Project plans and site details
According to planning documents, Aligned has applied to rezone roughly 89 acres at the southeast corner of East Broad and Mink for a multi-building campus that would include three long, low-profile structures, six data halls, electrical rooms, communications infrastructure, loading zones, and a small office, according to the City of Pataskala. The site plan also calls for a 10-foot landscaped berm and nearly 1,000 trees designed to help screen the buildings from Broad and Mink.
Residents voice concerns
Opponents at City Hall said they are worried about added strain on the electrical grid, potential effects on groundwater, and long-term impacts on nearby neighborhoods, as reported by MyFOX28. Several organizers told reporters they plan to start collecting signatures for a petition drive aimed at forcing more review or, if it comes to it, putting the question to voters in a referendum.
Developer's pitch and industry context
Aligned and its consultants argue the campus would bring significant investment and hundreds of construction jobs, a point the developer has emphasized in briefings. Dan Diorio of the Data Center Coalition told MyFOX28, "Ohio continues to be one of the nation's most important markets for data centers." Industry records and reporting show Aligned has purchased land in the area and has been positioning Pataskala as a new Ohio site, according to DataCenterDynamics.
Where the review stands
The Pataskala Planning & Zoning Commission has requested additional materials from the applicant and was scheduled to take public comment at a 6:30 p.m. meeting on Wednesday before making a recommendation to the City Council, according to City of Pataskala materials. Local observers note the proposal has already been scaled back from four proposed buildings to three and that a Community Reinvestment Area request was withdrawn, signaling that the application is shifting as it moves through review, according to Observers Collaborative.
What residents plan next
Organizers say they will keep gathering signatures and pressing elected officials as the application continues through Pataskala's review process. Their push mirrors a broader backlash across Ohio and the United States, where communities are increasingly turning to petitions, moratoria, and local votes to push for limits on large data center projects, as reported by Stateline.
