Tri-State resident sues to block ‘emergency’ rezoning for data center
A Wilmington, Ohio resident has filed a lawsuit to overturn an "emergency" rezoning approved by City Council for a proposed $4 billion Amazon data center. The lawsuit alleges the city illegally used the emergency designation to prevent a citizen-led referendum on the project. This comes amidst ongoing resident concerns about noise, pollution, and utility impacts, and follows recent Ohio Supreme Court rulings favoring citizen referendums on data center developments in other cities.
Wilmington, Ohio resident Rachel Mary Brooks has initiated legal action against the City of Wilmington, seeking a temporary restraining order to block an "emergency" rezoning approved by the City Council. The rezoning, which paves the way for a $4 billion Amazon data center project spanning 1.9 million square feet on a 471-acre parcel, is contested by Brooks who alleges the city's "emergency" declaration is a tactic to circumvent a public referendum. Under Ohio law, emergency ordinances take immediate effect and are immune to referendums.
Brooks and her attorney, Joshua Engel, argue there is no genuine emergency, asserting that the city's move is designed solely to prevent residents from voting on the significant development. They highlight that city representatives at public hearings were unable to provide a reason for the immediate enactment beyond avoiding a referendum. The proposed data center, which will include a private electrical substation and a water treatment building, directly abuts the Timber Glen subdivision, where several homes have been put up for sale since the project's announcement due to residents' deep concerns over potential noise, air pollution, increased energy use, and utility bill impacts.
Amazon has offered Wilmington $25 million for local infrastructure upgrades, including a 1 million-gallon water tower, new water main and sewer trunk lines, and road improvements, in addition to promising 100 permanent tech jobs. However, resident opposition remains high. This lawsuit follows prior litigation where homeowners sued the city over noise, vibrations, and open meetings violations, which resulted in a judge ordering a redo of certain ordinances.
The current legal challenge is informed by recent Ohio Supreme Court decisions, which sided with residents in two other data center legal disputes. In Trenton, the high court ordered a vote on a data center ban, ruling against the city council's refusal to certify a resident petition. Additionally, the court ruled in State ex rel. McNamara-Smith v. Grube that municipalities cannot use boilerplate "emergency" language or cite "avoiding project delays" to block referendums, a decision directly impacting a proposed data center and power plant in Ashville. The Wilmington City Council's justification for the "emergency" rezoning linked it to Amazon's infrastructure funding, such as water main replacements, attempting to establish a connection to immediate public health and safety.