Tiffin pauses data centers

TIFFIN — Tiffin City Council on Monday unanimously approved a 12-month moratorium on data center development within city limits, joining a growing list of Ohio communities that have paused such projects while the state weighs how to regulate them. Resolution 2026-42 passed 6-0 on its third reading. It halts the establishment or conversion of any structure into a data center for up to 12 months, including any building or change of use that would allow one. Council also voted 6-0 to declare the resolution an emergency. "This just gives the city time to see what the pros and cons are if a data center were to move into Tiffin," Councilmember Kyle Daugherty said. The moratorium has been in the works since March, when Law Director Zach Fowler first walked council through the mechanics of the pause. The 12 months is a maximum. The restriction could be lifted sooner if the city completes its zoning work ahead of schedule. Mayor Lee Wilkinson told residents at the April 6 meeting that no data center has been proposed in Tiffin. City Administrator Nick Dutro has said the study period is intended to let the city decide whether to develop zoning rules for such facilities or prohibit them entirely. Tiffin's action comes as state lawmakers are working through the same questions. The Ohio House in March unanimously passed House Bill 646, which would establish a 13-member Ohio Data Center Study Commission. The commission would hold at least four public meetings and submit a report of findings and legislative recommendations to the governor and General Assembly within six months. The bill is now before the Ohio Senate. Concerns driving both the state legislation and local moratoriums have centered on power consumption, water use, agricultural land loss and strain on electric infrastructure. Councilmember Kevin Roessner told council at the April 6 meeting that a data center uses roughly four times the electricity of a typical factory of similar size.