Butler CountyWednesday, November 11
Two zoning boards vote to block data centers in St. Clair Township
The Daily Hamilton team
Two zoning boards voted Tuesday to keep a data center campus out of St. Clair Township. One Butler County Planning Commission member expects the ban to become a "template" for other local governments in the region.
The data center fight around Trenton, by the numbers
- Nearly 80%
- of Trenton voters approved Issue 17
- 25 megawatts
- is the size Issue 17 targets, and above
- 600 acres
- Amazon Web Services wanted annexed
- 18 buildings
- in the proposed data center campus
Sources: WCPO 9 Cincinnati, Cincinnati Enquirer
It follows last week's vote in neighboring Trenton, where nearly 80% of voters approved Issue 17, which bans data centers that use over 25 megawatts. Amazon Web Services had wanted Trenton to annex roughly 600 acres from St. Clair and Madison townships for an 18-building campus. Trenton later backed out of the annexation effort.
- Voted Tuesday: Butler County Planning Commission and St. Clair Zoning Commission
- Amendment: blocks data centers as a primary land use
- County recommended added reasoning on electricity, water, noise and public well-being
At least 14 of 18 Ohio municipalities passed data center bans or limits
14 of 18
- passed bans or other restrictions
- 4 had no result reported yet
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer
View as table
| Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|
| passed bans or other restrictions | 14 | 78% |
| had no result reported yet | 4 | 22% |
Joe Kruger, whose 40-acre farm would have been surrounded by land tied to the project, said after the vote, "Let's go celebrate."
Sources: WCPO 9 Cincinnati, Cincinnati Enquirer