This is not a political organization, a business coalition, or any single neighborhood group with an agenda. Protect Grove City is residents. All kinds of them. Farmers and subdivision families. Business owners and retirees. Progressives and conservatives. People who have lived here for decades and people who moved here last year. What they have in common is that nobody asked them whether a 300+ acre industrial facility running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week belonged next to their homes, their farms, and their neighbors at Story Point Retirement and Assisted Living.

No. Protect Grove City is not a ban. We are asking City Council and Mayor Ike Stage for a moratorium, a temporary pause on data center development while our community gets the information it deserves. Some residents may personally want to see this project stopped entirely, and that’s a valid feeling. But this campaign has one ask — slow down. Give Grove City time to make sure every resident is fully informed, that our water, land, and infrastructure are protected, and that the long-term impact on our community has been carefully evaluated before any decision becomes permanent. A moratorium is what responsible local government looks like. It is not a no. It is a not yet. Our community has every right to ask for it.

According to Headwaters, this data center will feature an air-cooling system using numerous industrial HVAC units on the rooftop. How loud will it be? How much electricity will it need? Who will pay for the expansion of infrastructure? How will the ambient noise, infrasound, vibration, and temp of the data center affect the residents and wildlife living so close to it? Will this type of cooling system create another spike in utility prices? Will rolling black outs be required to prevent a grid collapse?

What type of contaminants will be off-loaded into the air, soil, and water around the center? Will neighboring wells, streams, and rivers be affected? If so, who will be responsible for fixing it so that we can continue to have affordable, safe drinking water?

Once the data center is built, will a Fuel Cell be required to power it? If so, where will that go and what type of plant will it be? Nuclear? Natural Gas? Solar or Wind?

Is City Council aware of House Bill 15 which authorizes data centers to build on-site power plants or fuel cells to support their projects without local municipal or township approval? Data Center companies can build whatever they need to generate power — and the city can do nothing about it once the data center has been approved per Ohio HB 15.

What regulations will City Council impose on the developer of the data center and how will they be enforced?