Alliance City Council approves 18-month moratorium on new data centers

ALLIANCE, Ohio Alliance City Council approved an 18-month moratorium on new data centers at its July 6 meeting. The temporary ban, not to exceed 18 months, passed by a 5-1 vote. The legislation denies permits for any AI data centers within city limits. Council members will have time to study data center impacts. Councilman Phillip Mastroianni voted against the legislation. Councilwoman Jennifer Kiko was absent. Mastroianni has said he opposes moratoriums because they stifle economic growth. The ban comes as Mayor Andy Grove recently revealed that at least one company has interest in bringing a data center to the city. It also follows separate legislation council approved in mid-June to restrict future data centers to I-2 industrial zones. Councilwoman Sheila Cherry pushed for the temporary ban. She said on June 30 that she wanted to make sure residents were protected, to separate facts from rumors and amend the I-2 restrictions to include conditional uses. A new sub-committee on data centers was formed to have future workshops and public discussion, led by Mastroianni and Cherry. The sub-committee will create conditional uses. Cherry said she wants all council members to participate in the research and create the conditions. She said she would support dropping the ban before 18 months if the work is done. But she said she wanted 18 months on the ban because things come up in this administration and everything does not run like clockwork. Cherry said she wants to come back to the public fully educated on the industry and make sure there are no flaws in the city's regulations. She said she wants to make sure she has done all, everything she could, get all the information she can, so she can stand on her truth. (Canton Repository, July 7, 2026)