WILMINGTON, Ohio — Wilmington city council approved zoning changes Thursday for four parcels of land totaling more than 545 acres, reclassifying the properties from rural residential to light industrial despite opposition from residents and planning officials.
The rezoning decisions pave the way for more industrial development near the site where Amazon Web Services wants to build a data center campus at 1488 US-68.
Residents packed council chambers Thursday night, with some opposing the changes.
“A lot of people’s lives are directly and negatively being affected by the AWS project; unfortunately, that project seems to be a done deal," one resident told council during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Others support the rezoning and potential data center development.
“I’m a third-generation owner of Save and Wholesale," one Wilmington business owner told council. "We’ve been there since 1909, right across from Murphy Theater, and I’m just kind of tired of seeing our sales decline, and I think the opportunity of this zoning change could tremendously help our business.”
WATCH: Wilmington city council votes 5 to 2 to approve the zoning changes.
The approved re-zonings on the agenda Thursday:
- Ordinance O-26-09 — Accepting the petition for the annexation of certain territory, being approximately 184.694 acres of land, more or less, into the City of Wilmington, Ohio, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code §§ 709.023, 709.033 & 709.04
- Ordinance O-26-10 — Accepting the petition for the annexation of certain territory, being approximately 360.181 acres of land, more or less, into the City of Wilmington, Ohio, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code §§ 709.023, 709.033 & 709.04
- Ordinance O-26-04 — Changing the zoning of real property located at 1957 SR 730 (119.373 acres) in the City of Wilmington, Ohio
- Ordinance O-26-05 — Changing the zoning of real property located on SR 730 (65.29 acres) in the City of Wilmington, Ohio
- Ordinance O-26-06 — Changing the zoning of real property located on McGuinn Road (191.12 acres) in the City of Wilmington, Ohio
- Ordinance O-26-07 — Changing the zoning of real property located on US 68 South (170.11 acres) in the City of Wilmington, Ohio
The Clinton County Regional Planning Commission had recommended tabling the re-zonings in staff reports dated Dec. 2, 2025. Planners cited unresolved questions about the AWS data center and its potential impacts on surrounding properties.
Despite the planning commission's recommendation to wait, council members moved forward with approving the zoning changes.
The Amazon Web Services data center project is still pending approval through separate processes. This zoning change is not final approval for the entire project.
