Supervisors adopt data center ordinance
Herto named temporary zoning officer in contentious meeting
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GRANVILLE -- Granville Township Supervisors were met with about 100 residents Wednesday night during a heated special meeting held to vote on a data center ordinance in which some yelled and pleaded with officials.
Supervisors heard nearly two hours of comments from dozens of residents. Some said the project lacked transparency from the start, accusing township officials of purposely withholding details and making "sneaky deals" while others reverted to namecalling.
Supervisors then approved the data center ordinance, which could make it more difficult for a data center to take root in Granville Township.
The ordinance addresses how data centers may be developed in Granville Township, including issues such as water use, noise, energy demand, environmental impacts, emergency services and public participation in the approval process.
During the business portion of the meeting, which lasted about 15 minutes after public comment, Supervisor William Paige made a motion to nominate Township Manager Mary Herto as the zoning officer.
This motion was not met favorably by the public, as several residents erupted in outrage, pleading with Supervisors Joe Fiore and Terry Stewart to vote against the motion.
Herto has stated publicly in past meetings she didn't know what a data center was and simply attended a regular zoning meeting regarding the issue. Paige told attendees Wednesday evening he was not aware of the matter prior to a May meeting.
Supervisors ultimately approved Herto as a temporary zoning officer.
Solicitor Fred Lighty explained that they needed a zoning officer to move forward with enforcing the ordinance.
The previous zoning officer stepped down from her role last week, stating that she felt conduct at the township undermined workplace morale and mutual respect.
Residents begged to look for someone else as they believe Herto is not helping them against the data center.
Sentinel deadlines restricted full coverage of Wednesday's meeting. Further details will be provided in a future edition.