Ten Ohio cities block new data center construction

Residents in ten Ohio cities voted to ban the construction of large data centers on Tuesday. The local charter amendments passed with wide margins across the state, effectively stopping developers from building hyperscale facilities in these communities.

Granville residents showed the strongest opposition to the projects, with 82.45% of voters approving the ban. Trenton followed closely at 79.68%, while Sunbury voters approved the measure by a 78.64% margin. Urbana passed its ban with 77.25% support and Upper Sandusky followed with 76.92% approval.

Other cities also secured clear majorities against the development. Pataskala voters approved the ban by 73.62%, Piqua by 66.7%, Defiance by 64.73%, and Conneaut by 64.18%. Oregon in Lucas County saw the lowest approval rate among the banning cities, with 60.69% of voters supporting the measure.

Developers have targeted Ohio for new data centers because of the state's flat terrain and inexpensive land parcels. The state also exempts data center equipment and construction materials from sales tax, a policy that saves developers hundreds of millions of dollars in costs.

Some cities adopted different approaches to data center regulation. In Grove City, voters approved Issue 28, which requires a public vote if a proposed data center covers 50 or more acres. That vote is also triggered if the facility uses more than 20 megawatts of electricity at peak or consumes over 500,000 gallons of water per day.

In Ashville, residents took a more direct action against a specific project. Eighty-one percent of voters rejected the EdgeConneX construction of two massive data center buildings, signaling local resistance to established developers.