Ohio Supreme Court Blocks Wilmington Data Center Ordinance From November Ballot
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a Wilmington ordinance, proposed by residents to regulate data centers and allow citizens to sue for zoning violations, cannot be added to the November ballot. The court affirmed the Clinton County Board of Elections' decision, citing the city's lack of legal grounds to enact such a rule. Despite this setback, residents are planning referendums to reverse a prior rezoning decision for data center development.
The Ohio Supreme Court has sided with the Clinton County Board of Elections, ruling that a proposed Wilmington ordinance regarding data center regulations cannot be added to the November ballot. Six of the seven justices determined that the city lacks the legal authority to enact a rule that would permit citizens to sue data centers for zoning violations, which was a key component of the initiative.
The ballot initiative was drafted by Wilmington residents, including Quintin Koger Kidd, in response to a proposed $4 billion Amazon data center project in the city. Residents sought stronger safeguards concerning traditional land use issues like sound and noise, building setbacks, chemical documentation in wastewater, generator use logs, and site restoration. The Clinton County Board of Elections had initially rejected the ballot issue, a decision now affirmed by the Supreme Court.
While the specific ordinance is blocked from the ballot, Koger Kidd expressed disappointment but indicated that residents would review and refine the initiative's language for future attempts. Separately, four referendums are still slated for the November ballot, aimed at reversing the city's previous decision to rezone parcels from residential to light industrial, which paved the way for the data center.