(The Center Square) – More voters in Ohio will not have in the future at data centers in their communities.
A citizen initiative to add data center regulations to the city of Wilmington’s zoning code won’t be on the ballot Nov. 3, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled.
“The city of Wilmington does not have authority to enact such an ordinance,” the court ruled. “Accordingly, on August 12, 2026, the Clinton County Board of Elections unanimously voted to not certify the petition.”
In 2024, the Wilmington City Council and the Clinton County Port Authority submitted a response to a request for proposals for data centers in Ohio from Amazon, according to a citizens group opposing it.
“The project was hidden from the public for about 18 months, giving no opportunities for community input or feedback,” the citizens group said on its website. “When we learned about the potential impacts – constant noise, air pollution, water contamination, and the loss of local control – we decided to act.”
The citizens’ group’s stated purpose is “to protect Wilmington and its residents from the harmful environmental and health impacts of the proposed Amazon data center by ensuring that any major industrial development is subject to rigorous, independent expert analysis and local community oversight.”
The group wants to suspend approval of the data center, have an “independent impact analysis” paid for by Amazon, and a "comprehensive remediation plan” that puts Wilmington first, not Amazon first,” according to the website.
The proposed ordinance would have established standards for noise, lighting, airborne emissions, generator-testing frequency, water use and discharge, and heat generation, among other things, according to court documents.
But the proposed ballot initiative did not pass the Ophio’s Supreme Court’s legal muster.
It would have allowed “any person who owns, or any elector who owns or occupies, real property within a certain distance to bring a civil action against the data center owner.
“The proposed ordinance at issue here purports to create a new cause of action and therefore is not within the municipality’s power to enact,” the Ohio Supreme Court held.