Community gathers for another protest against data center plans in Piqua | WHIO-TV

Residents of Piqua, Ohio, gathered for a protest outside City Hall on Tuesday evening, expressing strong opposition to a proposed data center development in their community. The protest, which drew over 50 people at its peak, was scheduled to coincide with Piqua's regular city commission meeting, where attendees planned to voice their grievances during the public comment session.

This local action comes as Governor Mike DeWine recently instructed the Ohio Tax Credit Authority to halt consideration of new data center tax exemption requests. The governor's office clarified that this action is not a complete ban on data centers but rather a suspension of tax exemptions, pending a study by the state legislature's joint data center committee on the industry's growth in Ohio. The report also noted other data center activities in the Miami Valley, including Amazon's projects in Sydney and a proposal in Wilmington, and Urbana City Council's previous decision to pause a data center project.

The specific data center project in Piqua, for which the company remains undisclosed due to a non-disclosure agreement, has already received approval from the Piqua City Commission. Alicia Lang, representing a local community group, articulated the protesters' "disgust" with the commission's decisions, stating that residents feel ignored and do not approve of the project. Lang further revealed that her group has retained legal counsel and intends to file a lawsuit to prevent the development from proceeding.

In response to the planned protest, the city of Piqua issued a statement acknowledging and supporting residents' right to peaceful assembly and expression. The city also directed residents to resources related to the data center on its website.