Twinsburg OH 12-month data center moratorium (2026-065)
Twinsburg, OH — Ordinance 2026-065: Twelve-Month Emergency Moratorium on Data Center Zoning and Occupancy Permits (2026)
Twinsburg, OH · City of Twinsburg, Ohio Ordinance 2026-065
- Status
- In effect
- Applies to
- Anyone seeking a zoning or occupancy permit involving data centers as a principal use in Twinsburg, and any existing Twinsburg business contemplating expansion into that use; city zoning and building officials.
- Enforced by
- City of Twinsburg zoning and building departments / City Council
Twinsburg adopted Ordinance 2026-065, a twelve-month moratorium on accepting for filing, considering, or issuing zoning and occupancy permits for any building, structure, use or change of use involving data centers as a principal use. The ordinance carries an emergency clause, so with five or more affirmative council votes it took effect immediately on passage and the Mayor's approval. Two features stand out. First, Twinsburg's Planning and Zoning Codes already did not permit data centers as a principally permitted use — the City Administration recommended the moratorium anyway, in the ordinance's own words 'out of an abundance of caution,' to give the city room to review its Codified Ordinances and applicable state law and decide whether anything further is needed on top of the existing ban. So this is a pause layered over a prohibition, not a pause instead of one. Second, Section IV separately bars any existing business in the city from expanding in a way that would involve data centers as a principal use for the duration — closing the route where an established operator grows into the use rather than applying fresh. The moratorium runs twelve months from the effective date, or until the Codified Ordinances are amended to address the issue, or until Council explicitly revokes it, whichever comes first. The ordinance defines a data center as a 'physical facility housing computers and/or networking equipment that is principally used for data processing and storage.'
Who is protected: Twinsburg residents, through a twelve-month bar on data center zoning and occupancy permits that also blocks existing businesses from expanding into the use — layered on top of the city's existing prohibition on data centers as a principal use.
Legal detail
City of Twinsburg, Ohio Ordinance 2026-065, an emergency measure establishing a temporary moratorium on accepting for filing and consideration and/or issuing zoning and/or occupancy permits for any building, structure, use or change of use involving Data Centers as a principal use, for twelve months. Operative text read directly from the ordinance published by the city. SECTION III sets three alternative endpoints, whichever occurs first: twelve months from the effective date; amendment of the Codified Ordinances to address the issues described; or Council legislation explicitly revoking the moratorium. SECTION IV independently prohibits any existing business from expanding in any way involving Data Centers as a principal use for the moratorium's duration. SECTION V states the purpose as considering amendments to the Codified Ordinances and studying where and whether to allow, limit or continue to prohibit the use. SECTION VII declares the emergency, reciting immediate preservation of public peace, health, safety, welfare and convenience, and provides that with the affirmative vote of five or more members of Council it takes effect immediately on passage and mayoral approval, otherwise at the earliest period allowed by law. Definition adopted for the moratorium: 'physical facility housing computers and/or networking equipment that is principally used for data processing and storage.' Baseline context recorded in the recitals: the City's Planning and Zoning Codes do NOT permit Data Centers as a principally permitted use, and the Administration recommended the moratorium 'out of an abundance of caution' in addition to that existing ban. Ohio Revised Code § 121.22 open-meetings compliance is recited in Section VI.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Twinsburg, OH |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Citation | City of Twinsburg, Ohio Ordinance 2026-065 |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Covered permit applications are not accepted for filing, considered, or issued; existing businesses may not expand into the use |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · government use of AI |
| Statute | City of Twinsburg, Ohio — Ordinance 2026-065, Establishing Moratorium for Data Centers |
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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