Pataskala may place data center ban on ballot amid signature questions
Pataskala City Council plans to vote on an emergency ordinance to place a charter amendment on the ballot that would ban data centers over 25 megawatts, despite an ongoing dispute over the validity of signatures collected by organizers. The Licking County Board of Elections initially indicated that organizers did not meet the required signature threshold, though city officials intend to proceed with the ballot measure if the signatures are ultimately deemed sufficient. Residents opposing data centers cite concerns over local water and energy resources.
Pataskala City Council in Ohio is scheduled to vote on an emergency ordinance that could place a charter amendment on the ballot, aiming to prohibit the construction of data centers with peak loads exceeding 25 megawatts. This move comes amid conflicting information regarding the sufficiency of signatures collected by local residents pushing for the ban, led in part by organizer Lee Guttentag. While organizers initially cited a state constitutional requirement of 310 signatures, the Licking County Board of Elections, through Director Tess Wigginton, indicated that 1,345 signatures—10% of Pataskala's registered voters—were actually needed.
Despite the Board of Elections' communication that only 401 out of 572 submitted signatures were valid, Pataskala City Administrator Tim Hickin informed the Board that the council would proceed with a vote on the ordinance, conditional on a final determination of signature validity. The citizen opposition, collaborating with the grassroots group Conserve Ohio, expressed discouragement but remains active, driven by concerns over data centers' impact on local water and energy resources, farmland loss, noise, light pollution, and tax incentives. This initiative mirrors a similar effort in nearby Sunbury, Ohio, where organizers successfully secured enough signatures to place a data center ban on the November ballot.