Voters in Trenton overwhelmingly approved a ban on large data centers on Tuesday, November 3, passing Issue 17 with 79.61% support in unofficial results from the Butler County Board of Elections reported by The Cincinnati Enquirer. The charter amendment prohibits data centers that use more than 25 megawatts of electricity inside the city limits of the Butler County community of about 14,000, capping months of debate over two proposed projects in and around the city.
Trenton was not alone at the polls. According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, voters in 18 Ohio municipalities weighed data center measures on November 3 — the most of any state — and all 18 passed bans or other restrictions. Ten communities approved outright bans, The Enquirer reported, while the other eight added new regulations or oversight.
The measure reached the ballot only after a fight. Residents with the Woodsdale and Trenton Environmental Resistance group, which opposed the data centers, collected signatures to put the ban before voters earlier this year, The Enquirer reported. After the Trenton City Council voted in August not to certify the petition, the Ohio Supreme Court intervened, found the council had disregarded the law, and ordered it to certify the petition, according to The Enquirer.
Supporters who spoke with The Enquirer framed the vote as a defense of the city’s character. Lacy Roth, 30, told The Enquirer she wants her 9-month-old son to grow up in a small town without noise and air pollution, adding, “I think Issue 17 is one of the biggest factors to get voters out today.” Lauren Johnson, 40, told The Enquirer, “I think our farmland is very important and our greenspace.”
Other residents told The Enquirer they worry the ban will cost Trenton economically. “I think we need the data centers,” Daniel Davis, 76, told The Enquirer, saying the facilities would bring jobs and revenue. Two advocates for the Trenton Community Alliance, which opposed the ban, declined to share their names with The Enquirer; one told The Enquirer data centers are coming regardless, and Trenton should get the income rather than someone else.
The vote does not by itself settle the largest project tied to Trenton. An Amazon Web Services data center is planned for land just outside the city, and because the ban applies only within city limits, it could still move forward on township land, The Enquirer reported. The city tried to annex land for the project but withdrew its petition in September, according to The Enquirer. WVXU has also reported that the result raises questions about a 250-megawatt Prologis facility being built in Trenton’s industrial park.
What happens next turns on land outside the city line. The St. Clair Township Zoning Commission passed a resolution on October 13 to ban data centers there, and it goes to a Butler County hearing on November 10, The Enquirer reported — another possible hurdle for the Amazon project. The November 3 results remain unofficial until the Butler County Board of Elections certifies them.