CONNEAUT – There will be no moratorium on data centers in the City of Conneaut.
For the third time in as many regular meetings, city council failed to act on an ordinance placing a temporary moratorium, not to exceed 12 months, on the granting and issuing of any new permits, as well as the receipt and processing of applications for permits, for data centers within the corporate limits of the City of Conneaut during a meeting on Monday, Aug. 10.
Council also failed to act on an ordinance to submit to the electors of the City of Conneaut, at the next regular municipal action, if one shall occur in not less than 60, or more than 120 days after passage of this ordinance, or otherwise at a special election, to be called and held within that time period on the question of amending the charter of the City of Conneaut, to add Article XVI, “Conservation of Natural Resources,” as proposed by petition, in its second reading.
At-Large Councilwoman Mariana Branch made the motion to declare the ordinance on the moratorium, in its third reading, an emergency and Ward 3 Councilman Oakey Emery seconded the motion.
That vote ended in a 3-3 tie and the motion failed. Branch, Emery and At-Large Councilman Nick Perkoski voted in favor while Council President Terry Moisio, Ward 2 Councilman Chris Castrilla and Ward 4 Councilman Tom Kozesky voted against it. Ward 1 Councilman Rick Gaugh was absent.
Branch then moved to act on the ordinance and Emery seconded again.
The motion failed, 2-4. Branch and Emery voted for it while Moisio, Perkoski, Castrilla and Kozesky voted against it.
Before the vote to declare the ordinance an emergency, Branch made a statement.
“First, I want to thank our citizens for coming out again this evening,” Branch said. “We appreciate your comments and for your public participation. I feel we’ve reached a critical tipping point tonight. For over six months, residents have packed this chamber making their voices unmistakably clear. They did not just stop at attending the meetings. They have now submitted a formal legal petition with more than double the required signatures to place a charter amendment on the ballot to limit data center sizes under 25 megawatts.”
“Passing this 12-month moratorium is no longer just a policy option, it’s a democratic necessity,” Branch continued. “It’s to respect the community’s explicit will, and it will give us the time we need to create our smartly planned advanced manufacturing zoning plan.”
Branch noted that she supports the ad hoc committee formed by city council to collect information on data centers, get feedback from community members and suggest zoning changes governing advanced technology development
“My full support is there for forming this ad hoc committee, because, it’s obvious, I’m the one who wrote it into this current ordinance that I’m proposing,” Branch said. “We also must consider some of the new language being introduced tonight for the Advance Manufacturing Zoning Review Committee because it broadens the scope of what the committee must investigate by adding four substantial tasks – evaluating property values, workforce metrics, economic impact, and utility credits.”
“We can’t expand the workload on this group and expect the original final deadline to be Feb. 8 to be attainable,” Branch continued. “That February deadline is now only seven months away. Given this increase of scope, granting a few extra months of breathing room through a 12-month moratorium would make sense.”
When the ordinance to place the amendment to the charter on the ballot was read, Moisio attempted to move it to a third reading.
When Branch questioned as to why it would move to another reading, Moisio explained that the topic was going to be discussed in an executive session.
“We weren’t aware of that,” Branch said.
Law Director John Lewis started to explain that if a councilmember wished to make a motion to suspend the three-reading rule, the process should be followed. Before he could even finish, Branch moved to waive the three-reading rule and asked to have the floor to make a comment.
“Both the Ohio Constitution and our charter indicate that council shall provide by ordinance for submitting the proposed amendment to a vote of the electors is my first point,” Branch said. “The second is, if we delay this vote, there could be a chance that this would have to be a special election, which was mentioned at the special meeting. That means that the city will be responsible for 100 percent of the cost of a special election, which could cost, per (City Finance Director John) Williams, maybe between $5,000 and $7,000.”
“I don’t see a reason why we are delaying this when the vote needs to be made,” Branch continued. “Then, in the end, if we delay it, we’re going to be paying more money for a special election and wasting taxpayer dollars. The third point is, if we do not pass this, because we need to, there’s the likely event that we would be exposed to litigation costs, and that will also cost the city more money, which is taxpayer dollars.”
Branch pleaded with council to act.
“I strongly urge everyone, please, to understand this is our obligation to do this this evening, and it’s very important to do so, because there will be consequences if we don’t,” Branch said.
Castrilla said he didn’t think the ordinance fits an emergency for the meeting.
“I’m voting no,” Castrilla said.
The motion to waive the three-reading rule on the ballot measure regarding the charter amendment failed, though the vote was 3-3, because five votes in favor were needed.
Branch, Emery and Perkoski voted in favor while Moisio, Castrilla and Kozesky voted against it.
The ordinance was moved to a third reading and will be addressed at the regular city council meeting on Monday, Aug. 24.
An ordinance establishing an advanced manufacturing zoning review committee, providing for its membership, duties and operation passed unanimously.
Branch wanted the ordinance amended to add language before it was passed.
“The reason I did this is because there was some language in there that was added, and I just wanted to make it a little stronger to protect our citizens regarding property value depreciation, municipal infrastructure strain, public health standards and have a legally binding performance clawback for community protection,” Branch said.
The amendment to the ordinance, the motion to waive the three-reading rule, the motion to declare it an emergency and the ordinance all passed unanimously.
The ad hoc committee can now begin meeting officially.
Later in the meeting, Branch made a motion to move the Aug. 24 meeting to a larger location citing that it was necessary because the ordinance on the charter amendment was moved to a third reading.
The motion failed, 2-4, as only Branch and Emery voted in favor. Castrilla, Moisio, Perkoski and Kozesky all voted against it.
