Findlay staff refine I-3 zoning draft to cover data centers; committee seeks clarifications on noise, groundwater and utility issues

Findlay City staff presented a draft I-3 large-scale industrial zoning section intended to provide flexible campus-style zoning that can accommodate data centers and the associated energy and utility needs, while adding explicit protections for environmental review, water use and noise.

A staff member said the draft grew from prior policy discussions to allow innovative manufacturing and campus-style development and that the I-3 language was adapted to address data centers specifically. "Under I, section 1, currently, it says a 55 decibels between 7AM and 10PM as measured at the property line of any residential zoning district or residential use," the staff member said, and recommended clarifying that the measurement should be taken at the data-center property line where it abuts residential zoning so the use is "self contained in essence."

Committee members pressed whether the code should limit building size or types of data centers (enterprise, multi-tenant, hyperscale). Staff said they did not include an absolute square-foot cap because any applicant seeking I-3 rezoning would need to demonstrate sufficient land and the primary regulatory tools are buffering, setbacks, lot-coverage limits and conditional-use review.

Members also raised practical enforcement and utility questions. A committee member noted the city does not operate the electric utility and that negotiations about on-site generation or tariffs are handled by private or regional utilities such as AEP; staff said those matters are negotiated outside zoning and that the draft should require applicants to document water‑use and groundwater impacts. On groundwater the staff member said the draft should distinguish construction dewatering from ongoing cooling withdrawals and that the code should require applicants to communicate expected groundwater impacts.

Staff proposed additional edits and recommended another committee review meeting before sending the draft to council.

Next steps: staff will clarify decibel-measurement language, refine groundwater and detention-pond language, and convene a follow-up committee meeting before forwarding to council.