Ohio Supreme Court lets village keep $3.6 billion data center on hold

A proposed $3.6 billion data centre campus in Ohio will remain on hold after the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled that local officials in the village of Lordstown do not have to continue reviewing the project while a moratorium on new data centres remains in effect. The decision stems from a dispute involving Bristolville 25 Developer LLC, which is seeking to build four three-storey data centre buildings and related infrastructure on industrial land in Lordstown, about 45 miles southeast of Cleveland. According to court records and industry reports, the development has been valued at approximately $3.6 billion and would span 133 acres across the Trumbull-Mahoning county line Developer raced to file plans before restrictions The developer began Lordstown's site-plan review process in October 2025, submitting initial plans just days before village officials moved to restrict new data centre developments. The following day, the village's planning and zoning administrator informed the company that a ban on data centres was being considered by the village council. In November 2025, Lordstown approved a ban on new data centres. The village later repealed the outright ban and replaced it with a six-month moratorium in January 2026 before extending the moratorium through the remainder of 2026. Bristolville argued that because its plans were submitted when data centres were still permitted under local zoning rules, the project should continue to be reviewed under the earlier regulations. The company sought a writ of mandamus compelling the village to move forward with the approval process. The timeline Bristolville bought the land in February 2025 and delivered its draft site plan on October 20, 2025. The next day, the village’s planning and zoning administrator told the company that a data center ban was pending before council and that review could not begin until council decided. About 100 residents, mostly opposed to new data centers, attended a council meeting in November 2025, and council voted 6-0 to ban new data centers. In January 2026, the village replaced the ban with a six-month moratorium, and council later extended it through the rest of 2026. The village engineer did an initial review after the ban passed and found missing information, including stormwater management and utility plans. Once the ban became a moratorium, the village suspended further review, and the company asked the Supreme Court to compel it to continue. Court sides with village In a unanimous decision issued on October 20, the state's highest court rejected the developer's claim. The court found that Bristolville had only initiated the first stage of Lordstown's four-step review process and had not completed the requirements necessary to obtain the right to apply for a zoning permit. The court concluded that because the developer had not advanced far enough through the approval process before the moratorium took effect, village officials were under no legal obligation to continue reviewing the project. Massive AI-era data centre proposal Planning documents described the proposed facility as a 1.65 million-square-foot campus featuring four three-storey data centre buildings. During public discussions, project representatives said the facility would use closed-loop cooling systems and could employ around 120 people across three shifts once completed. The developer's engineering team also indicated that cooling water would initially be trucked to the site, while discussions had been held with utility provider FirstEnergy regarding the project's electricity requirements "Under the moratorium, the village is under no legal duty to proceed with a site-plan review," the court stated in its opinion. Local opposition and wider trend The proposal attracted significant local attention. According to reports, around 100 residents attended a village council meeting in November 2025, with most expressing opposition to additional data centre development. Village leaders said the moratorium was intended to give officials time to study potential regulations and assess the impact of such projects on the community. The ruling also adds to a series of setbacks for projects linked to Western Hospitality Partners, the New York-based company affiliated with Bristolville 25 Developer. Several proposed data centre campuses in other US states have reportedly faced opposition, zoning hurdles or infrastructure-related challenges. For now, the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling means the Lordstown project will remain frozen while the village's moratorium remains in place