Trenton voters will decide whether to ban large data centers in their city next month.
Issue 17 will be on the November ballot after a legal battle. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled the city must allow people in Trenton to vote on the proposal to prohibit the construction of any data center bigger than 25 megawatts.
There is a planned 250-megawatt data center being built in the city’s industrial park, and there’s the possibility of another coming.
The future of both projects could depend on the election outcome.
Here’s an explanation of the ballot measure.
What you’ll see on the ballot
Issue 17
Proposed Charter Amendment
City of Trenton
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.
Shall the Charter of the City of Trenton be amended to add Article IX, Section 9.06, as follows:
Be it Resolved by the People of the City of Trenton that the Charter of the City of Trenton is hereby amended to add Section 9.06 to Article IX to read as follows:
Article IX, Section 9.06. Prohibition of Construction of a Data Center
(A) The construction of a data center is hereby prohibited.
(B) As used in this Section, "construction" shall mean the erection of one or more buildings, infrastructure, facilities, and related activities, which include preparations and modifications for same, for a common purpose.
(C) As used in this Section, "data center" shall mean one or more buildings or physical facilities or infrastructure, located on a single real property parcel or on contiguous, adjacent, or otherwise aggregated real property parcels that:
(1) Are used primarily or exclusively for digital information services such as the management, storage, processing, and dissemination of electronic data and information through the use of computer systems, servers, networking equipment, and related components, including equipment cooling systems; and
(2) Has an aggregate monthly demand or peak load of greater than twenty-five (25) megawatts, however derived from any energy source, or a combination thereof.
(D) This Section is self-executing.
What happens if Issue 17 passes?
A ‘yes’ vote would amend the city charter to prohibit the construction of large data centers, effectively banning these types of developments in Trenton.
If voters approve Issue 17, it’s unclear what would happen to the under-construction Amazon Web Services data center that’s being built in Trenton’s industrial park.
The lawyer who helped local organizers draft the charter amendment and represented them at the Ohio Supreme Court says the project would be limited to 25 megawatts, a tenth of its proposed capacity. The city says the project would continue as planned since it already has permits. City officials previously expressed concerns about whether the language of the ban is constitutional and could decide to file a lawsuit if it passes.
Another proposed AWS data center couldn't be built in the city. Previously, Trenton sought to annex 600 acres from neighboring Madison and St. Clair Townships for the project. AWS may still decide to build the data center by going through the townships.
Supporters of Issue 17 say the ban would protect their community from harmful effects of data center development, including increased pollution, noise and utility bills.
What happens if Issue 17 fails?
A ‘no’ vote would leave the city charter unchanged and would continue allowing the construction of large data centers in Trenton.
If voters reject Issue 17, the city could decide to re-file its petition to annex 600 acres from neighboring townships for another AWS data center.
City leaders have also proposed giving residents a property tax cut, a discount on membership at the new YMCA and a freeze new tax levies for street improvements, police operations or part-time fire, EMS and rescue services until 2035. Council is considering five pieces of legislation that outline these financial benefits if voters reject the ban and both data center projects move forward.
Officials say they’re returning economic benefits of the developments to taxpayers. Some residents have questioned that, raising concerns over why the city would tie the benefits to the outcome of the election.
Opponents of Issue 17 say the ban would limit business opportunities.
Read more: