In Licking County, Etna Township Trustees and the Zoning Commission meet Tuesday night to present the final draft of the township's comprehensive plan.
Some area residents said they are worried that the plan for future land use opens the door for a data center to someday be built near homes.
Developer Edged submitted two applications to rezone a farm in Etna Township to build a data center. This week, Edged withdrew its most recent application and told Etna Township it's no longer interested in the property.
People who live near the farm, like Violet Township resident Pam Bellish, still worry about what might become of the land.
Bellish said the township's draft land use plan changes that area's suggested use from "rural residential" to "planned office." Bellish thinks that could open the door for data centers or other non-residential development.
"We just realized how vulnerable so many community members are because their homes sit, like, surrounding this unprotected land," Bellish said.
Etna Township Trustees stress that Tuesday's meeting is just a presentation and discussion. They said the comprehensive plan is just that — a plan for future land use. They will not rezone any property at the meeting.
"The Comprehensive Plan is intended to guide future land-use decisions, and any future rezoning application would have to go through its own public review process," Trustee Rachel Zelazny told WOSU in an email.
Zelazny added that there is currently no active data center application associated with the proposal for the farm site in question.
Still, Bellish feels like changing the land's intended use on a map could change the area's future. She worries about another data center proposal, and industrial tech complex, or a corporate headquarters moving into her neighborhood.
"We feel like there's a right place for those sorts of things," Bellish said. "And we don't think that in the middle of residential neighborhoods (is) where this kind of stuff goes."
Bellish and her husband, Mike Bellish, found out about the first data center proposal when someone anonymously left a flier in their mailbox. After that, they worked to notify their neighbors in Violet Township and residents in Etna Township, like Todd Leonard.
Leonard said a data center would be "catastrophic" for Etna Township. He thinks it would tank the values of nearby properties and ruin the rural landscape that drew residents to the area.
"It takes away from so many different aspects of our country living out here," Leonard said.
The Bellishes said they plan to attend Tuesday night's meeting.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Etna Township Building at 81 Liberty Street.
