TRENTON, Ohio — After months of fighting to put restrictions on data center development before voters, residents in Trenton delivered a decisive message.
Issue 17 passed by roughly an 80-to-20 margin, amending the city's charter to limit new data centers to 25 megawatts.
WATCH: Trenton residents celebrate the passing of Issue 17 on election night
For the citizen-led group Woodsdale and Trenton Environmental Resistance, or WATER, which fought to get the measure on the ballot, the result was about giving residents a say in the future of their community.
“This is just the time in our city that we feel like finally the citizens had their voice,” WATER member Barry Blankenship said on election night.
The vote comes as one data center project is already under construction in Trenton and a second had been proposed on about 600 acres the city sought to annex.
Trenton vote could offer a roadmap for other Ohio communities
Trenton was not the only Ohio community where residents have pushed to put data center restrictions directly before voters.
Nick Owens, a lawyer and co-founder of Conserve Ohio, said his group helped with 10 charter amendment campaigns across the state. He said all 10 passed.
Owens hopes the results encourage other communities to pursue similar efforts.
“Hopefully those communities across Ohio who are trying to make a stand against the hyperscale data center invasion, they will look towards Trenton and look to other communities to effectuate their direct democracy rights to put the people in charge of their government,” Owens said.
Prologis says Issue 17 will not affect its project
One major question remains: What happens to the Prologis data center project already under construction in Trenton?
Could the new charter restriction force the project to scale back?
Owens believes the project may not have secured the legal rights to move forward at its planned size. He pointed to the fact that construction has not progressed beyond site work.
“Is a data center up and running right now? Is there a server online? Is there any even power connected to that source? It's just all site work right now,” Owens said.
The legal question centers on when a development gains what is known as vested rights, protections that could allow a project to continue under rules that existed before a new restriction took effect.
He said Ohio courts have not yet settled exactly when a project of this scale gains those rights.
Prologis, however, says the new restriction will not affect its project.
In a statement to WCPO 9, the company said it respects the process and outcome of the vote but believes the result does not affect its development.
Prologis said the project will bring lasting benefits to Trenton, including local jobs, tax revenue and support for schools and services.
The company also said its team has spent months engaging with residents and local leaders, answering questions and sharing information about the project. Prologis said it plans to continue those conversations as development moves forward.
Read Prologis' full statement:
Prologis respects the process and the outcome of last night’s vote. The result does not affect our project. We feel strongly this project will bring lasting benefits to Trenton, including creating local jobs, generating tax revenue and supporting schools and services. Our team has spent many months engaging residents and local leaders, answering questions and sharing facts about the project, and we will continue to do so as the project moves forward.
WCPO 9 also reached out to the City of Trenton for comment but had not received a response by the time this story was published.
Residents say the vote was about having a voice
For the people behind Issue 17, the election was about more than one development.
They wanted residents to have a direct say in decisions that could shape their community for years to come.
“When the power of the people comes together, we can beat money and we can beat big tech when citizens band together and come together as one unit,” Blankenship said.
The next step will be seeing how the city and Prologis respond to the new charter amendment, and whether the existing project becomes the subject of a legal challenge.
