Two Ohio townships fight city's annexation bid tied to Amazon data center
Two townships in Butler County, Ohio, are fighting the city of Trenton's attempt to annex land for an Amazon data center. St. Clair Township has a 12-month moratorium on data centers in effect and plans to propose new zoning regulations. The county is also reviewing the annexation bid due to traffic concerns and objections from the townships.
Two Butler County, Ohio townships, St. Clair and Madison, are actively opposing the City of Trenton's efforts to annex land for a proposed Amazon data center. This conflict has been ongoing for months, with residents and officials from both sides attending public meetings.
St. Clair Township Trustee Dustin Gad stated that the township has held the land for over 200 years and criticized Trenton's offer of 30 years of four mills and a $5 million payment to drop objections. Gad confirmed that Amazon Web Services is offering $5 million to both St. Clair and Madison Townships. He emphasized that St. Clair Township has its own zoning department for development. Madison Township previously voted to object to the annexation, and St. Clair Township trustees recently voted unanimously to do the same.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Moser was present at the meeting and indicated that the Butler County Commissioners would review the case. Additionally, the county engineer may recommend halting the annexation plan due to traffic concerns raised by both townships. St. Clair Township currently has a 12-month moratorium on data centers in effect, and Trustee Gad plans to propose new language to the zoning commission to regulate data centers, as current regulations are lacking.
Daniel Zivian from Local 12 News reported on the escalating dispute.