MORATORIUM OR FAST TRACK?

Representatives of a Texas developer began their lobbying effort on behalf of a 300-acre data center in Grove City quietly at least seven months ago.

It was slow and methodical.

They met privately with Mayor Ike Stage, members of his administration and City Council members, often in one-on-one sessions. The behind-the-scenes effort was revealed only after a grassroots activist filed a public records request.

But now, Stage and most members of Council appear ready to abandon the slow-and-methodical approach. Instead, they seemed at a May 18 Council meeting to favor putting the hyper-scale project on a much faster track.

At the meeting, only one Council member — Mohamed Omar — publicly supported a temporary moratorium. Omar said he believes a temporary moratorium would give Council members and the public time to thoroughly educate themselves on the pros and cons of the proposed project.

His comments were similar to those expressed recently by Jackson Township trustees who unanimously supported a 12-month moratorium on approval of a data center in the non-Grove City portions of the township.

In contrast, Council President Ted Berry laid out a time frame that could result in a final vote being held on the controversial project by the first week of August — 2 1/2 months after the Texas developer is expected to file its official application for a re-zoning.

Berry’s comments stunned most of the standing-room-only crowd that jammed the Council chambers. What’s the rush? these data center skeptics asked.

Not coincidentally, a speedier approval process would greatly benefit the data center’s developer, skeptics contend. Why? Because most residents don’t yet know that a data center is being proposed.

Skeptics have been attempting to spread the word. But during door-to-door canvassing, they find most residents are unaware of the controversy. When informed, homeowners almost unanimously oppose the project, activists report. However, data center skeptics realize their low-budget grassroots campaign will take time. News media coverage has been spotty.

Also worrying are remarks made by Grove City Law Director Stephen J. Smith, skeptics say. He has given Council members a convenient excuse for opposing a temporary moratorium, they argue. He isn’t “a big fan of moratoriums,” Smith told Council members at their May 4 meeting. A moratorium is unneeded, he opined, because city zoning laws already allow Council members to delay a vote for as long as they want.

But Smith forgot to tell Council members that a 12-month moratorium would all but guarantee that a vote would be delayed for at least a year, skeptics note. Sure, Council members could rescind a moratorium any time they wanted. But such an action would be tantamount to political suicide, data center skeptics say. And elected officials — like the seven members of Council — aren’t usually prone to political suicide, they add. Under Smith’s scenario, a 12-month postponement on a final vote would be far less likely, skeptics argue.

Smith insists he is neutral on the issue. His only goal is to provide unbiased legal advice to the Council, Smith says.

The first indication of which way the Council is leaning will come when Omar introduces his proposed ordinance for a temporary moratorium.

Will Council members continue the slow-and-methodical course that characterized the Texas developer’s lobbying effort? Or will they favor a faster track? We’ll see.