TRENTON, Ohio — The Trenton Planning Commission gave swift approval Monday to a site plan for the Prologis data center project, wrapping up its meeting in about 10 minutes — but not all residents were satisfied with the decision.
The commission voted that the site plan complies with the city’s zoning code.
The development, located on 141 acres in Trenton’s industrial park south of Kennel Road, is already under construction. The project features four buildings totaling 880,000 square feet, each equipped with high-tech cooling systems.
Prologis, the company behind the project, says it will create 140 jobs, bring in $120,000 annually in city utility fees, and operate with a water-efficient design that requires no chemicals and only uses water about 3% of the year. The company also says it will cover the cost of power upgrades and all utility costs.
But not everyone is convinced.
“I did not expect a 10-minute meeting and a decision to go ahead,” said Melinda Zemper, a Butler County resident and member of Save Ohio Parks. “My question is what kind of air emissions are going to be coming from this natural gas plant?”
WATCH: How the Trenton Planning Commission made the decision Monday
Zemper also questioned the pace of the decision.
“Why rush? We can live without AI. We cannot live without clean air and clean water, a viable planet and healthy children. People will not live here, they will not stay here, and they will not work here,” Zemper said.
Barry Blankenship said he's concerned the meeting did not allow for enough discussion.
“It was supposed to be a site plan review," Blankenship said. "It didn’t say 'site plan vote.' They shouldn’t have voted on this tonight."
Blankenship leads a grassroots group of more than 500 members who have raised concerns about noise, traffic, diesel generators and fossil fuel power plants.
After the meeting, city officials declined to answer questions, saying they would only respond via email. We reached out to Trenton city officials through email following the meeting, but have not yet heard back.
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Despite the commission’s review and approval of the plan, opposition organizers like Blankenship said they will continue monitoring the project.
“We’re going to keep on fighting,” Blankenship said. “If we can’t get it stopped, we’re going to be watching. Everything that goes wrong that we see, we’re going to report it.”
