Voters in Trenton overwhelmingly approved Issue 17, a charter amendment that bans the development of large data centers within city limits. Unofficial results from the Butler County Board of Elections show the measure passed with 80% of the vote.
Barry Blankenship, a leader of the Woodsdale and Trenton Environmental Resistance group, said the scale of support reflects growing national opposition to data centers over their massive electricity and water demands.
“We’re just another statistic that proves the citizens do not want them, even though city governments and these big businesses want to come into these little communities and roll over us, thinking we're just going to sit back and take it,” Blankenship said.
The charter amendment was proposed by a group of neighbors, including Blankenship, who gathered signatures to get it on the ballot.
The measure’s passage means developers looking to bring data centers to the city will need to keep projects under 25 megawatts. That blocks plans for Trenton to annex land for a 1,000-megawatt Amazon data center and puts into question the future of a 250-megawatt facility currently being built by Prologis in the city's industrial park.
"It's a sigh of relief," Blankenship said. "It's like when people go to bed tonight, they can actually sleep."
Supporters celebrated at Barn N Bunk Farm Market, eating a cake with blue lettering reading “vote yes on Issue 17” as a musician plucked out folk protest songs on his guitar.
Issue 17 faced opposition from a group funded by outside interests, including the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Prologis. Trenton Community Alliance canvassed, distributed yard signs and ran ads against the ban, saying it would limit economic opportunities for the city.
Trenton has said building the data centers would provide a host of financial benefits for residents, including a one-year elimination of Trenton’s general fund property tax, a 30% discount on YMCA memberships and millions of dollars for Edgewood City Schools.
Seventeen other communities in Ohio also voted on data center-related ballot measures — the most in the nation.
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