Grove City voters have approved Issue 28, a city charter amendment to require a citywide vote for developments above a certain size. Issue 28 passed with 54.61% of voters approving the amendment, according to unofficial results from the Franklin County Board of Elections.
The amendment was brought to the ballot by Protect Grove City, a grassroots organization that is seeking to use the amendment to thwart data center development in the city.
The charter amendment was opposed by the group Save Grove City, which was created by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. It opposed the amendment because it was too broad and could hurt development in Grove City.
“We are extremely proud. We are extremely grateful for the residents of Grove City who showed up to make their voices heard because that's what Issue 28 has been all about all along,” organizer Karen Church said. “This is just, this is one step of many to make sure that the residents have a voice on the largest developments that could change the landscape of the city.”
Patricia Spillman, another Protect Grove City organizer, was overcome with emotion Tuesday. While she’s a resident of Pleasant Township, not Grove City, her farm sits across the street from properties a developer wants to turn into a data center campus.
“I can't even begin to even vocalize how I feel, just knowing that the rest of Grove City came together and to back the township,” Spillman said. “It's just now setting in with me that this actually passed and that we are going to have a voice through the neighbors that live in town.”
Issue 28’s apparent victory echoes a trend across Ohio of voters rejecting data centers. Ohioans appear to have resoundingly rejected data center developments, with several cities banning data centers within their city limits.
