Conneaut residents take data center restrictions to November ballot
Conneaut residents have successfully gathered signatures to place a charter amendment on the November ballot, which, if approved, would limit data centers in the city to a maximum power capacity of 25 megawatts. The effort is driven by concerns over protecting Lake Erie and local natural resources from potential large-scale data center development.
Residents in Conneaut, Ashtabula County, Ohio, have successfully pushed for a charter amendment to be placed on the November ballot that would impose restrictions on data center development. The initiative began in February after residents learned that companies were potentially considering Conneaut and other parts of Ashtabula County for data center projects. A group of volunteers collected enough signatures to bring the measure before the Conneaut City Council, which approved the charter amendment for the ballot on Monday night.
If approved by voters, the amendment would limit data centers in the city to a maximum power capacity of 25 million watts of electricity, equivalent to powering 20,000 homes. Organizers, including Joel Specht, emphasized the need to protect Lake Erie and other natural resources from the potential impacts of large-scale data center development, viewing these resources as a commodity by some businesses.
Though there are currently no proposed data center projects in Conneaut, residents are taking a proactive stance, calling the measure a preventative action. Following their success in Conneaut, organizers expressed their mission to assist other rural communities in organizing against data center developments, noting that "big tech companies" often take advantage of the challenges in organizing in these regions.