Troy Residents For Responsible Growth

First Look at Troy’s Proposed Data Center Ordinance Changes

At this week’s Planning & Zoning meeting, the City provided its first detailed update on the effort to revise the data center ordinances. We want to thank City Engineer Tom Cissell, who has clearly spent a great deal of time researching this issue, reviewing ordinances from around the country, and taking the time to walk residents and Planning Commission members through the framework while answering questions and listening to feedback.

The screenshots included with this post are from the presentation shared during the meeting and provide a look at some of the proposed changes currently being discussed.

One thing that stood out to us was the amount of information that was shared. Compared to where we were a few months ago, residents are getting a much clearer picture of what is being discussed and why.

The presentation highlighted a number of proposed changes, including a two-reading requirement for major industrial projects, increased setbacks, expanded landscaping requirements, stronger utility and water-use regulations, noise controls, facility expansion controls, ownership transfer requirements, and strengthened decommissioning requirements.

We appreciate the work that has gone into getting us to this point.

While there’s still a lot to work through, we were encouraged to see several of the concerns residents have raised over the past few months reflected in the discussion.

As the ordinance continues to take shape, there are a few areas we still believe deserve additional consideration.

One of the biggest is the proposed 30 MW cap. While it is encouraging to hear the City state that it does not want a hyperscale data center, a 30 MW facility is still a significant development. Depending on the design, a facility of that size could still occupy roughly 10–25 acres and bring years of construction activity, along with concerns about noise, water usage, traffic, and other impacts that residents have consistently raised. We believe additional discussion around the proposed cap is warranted.

We also view the proposed 1,000-foot setback as an improvement from the previous 250-foot setback. However, we would like to see further discussion about whether 1,000 feet is enough. Construction noise, traffic, and other impacts can extend well beyond that distance. More broadly, many residents have consistently said they value Troy’s identity as a residential community and want to ensure any future industrial development remains limited in scale and compatible with that character.

Overall, we appreciate the City’s willingness to share its work, answer questions, and seek input before any final decisions are made. There is clearly still more work ahead, but this was a productive first look at how the ordinance revisions are taking shape.

For those wondering what comes next, proposed data center ordinance revisions are expected to be presented at the June 11 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting.

The moratorium was intended to give the city time to review the existing ordinances and consider potential changes. June 11 should provide a first look at what city staff has been working on.

If you’ve been following the issue, this is likely a meeting worth paying attention to.

Ohio estimated these tax breaks would cost $136 million in 2025.

The number for 2025 ended up at $1.6 BILLION.

A major reason for the increase: data centers.

And according to the article, those savings are flowing to companies like Meta, Google, and Amazon.

These are some of the richest companies in the world…how much do we really need to give them?

Ohio data center tax break cost $1 billion more than expected in 2025 - Signal Ohio Ohio’s biggest tax break for data centers is more expensive than once thought. A lot more expensive.