In a move that echoes citizen pushback against data centers across the country, Jerome Township, a small municipality in Ohio, has put a nine-month freeze on new data center construction. As is often the complaint in similar situations, the freeze is a response to resident complaints and safety concerns tied to two existing data centers, in this case facilities owned by Amazon.
The trustees voted unanimously in early September to suspend acceptance and approval of zoning applications for additional data centers while the township rethinks how, and whether, the fast-expanding industry fits its growth plan.
A fast-growing community of roughly 13,000 residents, Jerome Township reflects a national tension: the AI era’s voracious appetite for compute—which requires massive data center buildout—versus the local costs those hulking facilities impose. In one sense, data centers offer major benefits: some long-term job creation and steady demand for services. In another, they are unsightly industrial sites whose constant operations test noise rules, emergency protocols and electrical grid capacity.
Officials framed the pause as homework, not an outright ban on new data facilities. Some town leaders appear focused on job creation and tax revenues, voicing worry that nearby towns will attract the data centers. In contrast, Trustee Wezlynn Davis, who pushed for the moratorium, said data centers bring outsized impacts for a modest local return. And residents have expressed exasperation, complaining of a persistent industrial hum that is degrading pleasant neighborhoods.
Measured by decibels, the facilities appear to meet local limits, but homeowners still report lower quality of life. In response, Amazon claimed that it is making a multi-million dollar investment to engineer a solution to reduce noise.
Truly a Revenue Source?
The economics of data centers are debatable. Amazon’s two centers received 10-year property tax abatements, with local revenues instead tied to a 1.5% income tax on workers through a joint development agreement. Amazon notes that its presence offers major benefits: the company invested about $4.1 billion in local data center spend between 2022 and 2024. It also paid $1.1 million in local property taxes and fees in 2024, and supported roughly 2,360 full-time equivalent jobs annually.
But it’s unknown how many of those jobs will remain after construction crews depart. Furthermore, Davis argues the township is sacrificing scarce commercial land that could host higher-value employers with more enduring payrolls.
Safety issues have been a source of friction. Fire Chief Douglas Stewart pointed to two worker fatalities at the Amazon sites during construction and a blaze on April 17 that caused an estimated $50 million in damage. He also criticized on-site access protocols that, he said, delayed medic units at gates during emergencies. Amazon says it does not require background checks or nondisclosure agreements for first responders, and notes that some incidents occurred under the control of general contractors.
Who Pays for Demands on the Electrical Grid?
Data centers are heavy users of electricity and significant consumers of water for cooling. Davis has argued existing households and businesses shouldn’t subsidize that load and has pointed to Ohio’s evolving regulatory landscape—including a new data center tariff now subject to potential appeal—as a reason to slow down. Like officials across the country, Davis suggested that data centers need to bring their own source of power instead of further leaning on already stressed grids.
The moratorium’s effect has larger ramifications. Township leaders say multiple applications, possibly as many as four projects, had been moving forward but are now on hold. During the pause, the board will consider moving data centers from “permitted” to “conditional” use in local zoning, which would give officials greater leverage over location, noise levels, and safety protocols.
When the pause ends, Jerome will need to make a decision facing many communities across the country: do the benefits of a local data center outweigh the resulting quality of life issues?
