Companies eyeing Pierce Township land for a data center now face a steeper climb.
A week after a San Francisco-based company presented a pitch to build a data center near the now-closed Beckjord power plant, township trustees met to extend a moratorium on data centers.
“We are not considering a data center,” said Allen Freeman, chair of the board of trustees, at the start of Wednesday’s meeting. He was met with applause from a packed room.
The current moratorium, recently extended until February, will now last until May 31, 2027 — effectively preventing Crane or any other companies from obtaining zoning permits before then.
Freeman said the move gives the township’s planning and zoning more time to seek input from the community and adjust the zoning code to adequately prepare for any proposals.
“A lot of communities are being bombarded by these data centers, and they're not ready,” Freeman said. “There's no zoning to protect them, so we wanted to get out ahead of that.”
Freeman said he has not heard from Crane and was not aware of its hopes to build a data center until he saw WVXU’s reporting.
“All of a sudden, Crane shows up and says, ‘Hey, take a look at our proposal,’” Freeman said, adding the commission is, “taking it in stride, and they're saying, ‘Interesting, but we have a moratorium.’ So that's where we stand right now.”
It is unclear whether Crane will continue its play for the 300-acre site next to the shuttered power plant.
Pierce Township’s Director of Community Development and Planning, Christine Celsor, confirmed at the meeting that Crane has not yet submitted any formal applications.
Freeman said he is leery of the benefits Crane and other companies say data centers bring to communities. Last week, Crane’s representative told Pierce Township officials it was considering building trails, a playground or dog park.
“Don't really try to show us shiny objects because at the end of the day, we know that if you build it, we're going to have a lot of issues,” Freeman said. “If you want to go build someplace else, by all means, [it’s a] free country, go on. But we're going to do what we have to do.”
Freeman’s position was echoed by the two other township trustees — including Nick Kelly, who said he appreciates the township’s “rural charm.”
“A lot of that is, I think, what generally the community wants to see, and we're trying to act in line with what you guys want,” Kelly said, adding that Crane can eye the site, but it doesn’t mean they can build there.
Residents who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting applauded the trustees for extending the moratorium and stressed their opposition to the site.
Chris Wood, a longtime Pierce Township resident who lives next to the proposed data center site, said he moved onto the land because it's removed from busy life.
“At night, it's peaceful. It's quiet. Damn data center goes up there — I get all the noise,” Wood said.
The people who own the property next to Wood’s have expressed willingness to sell their land, Crane’s representative told Pierce Township’s planning and zoning commission last week.
Another township resident, Scott Lyons, said he’s open to the idea of economic development but would rather any projects go directly on the old Beckjord site.
“Let's embrace our future and know that there's a place for this stuff,” Lyons said. “And let's really get focused on getting either that cleaned up or let's get some economic development in here.”
Still, others said the township should think about the benefits a data center might bring.
“We can't just run from it. We got to embrace it, because they're going to do our hospitals, our healthcare, our infrastructure,” said resident Mark Williams. “It's all what we need for the 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th century.”
Freeman said all opinions are welcome on Oct. 6, when the township’s planning and zoning commission intends to discuss how it may place more restrictions on township land to prepare for data centers.
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