Some Trenton residents say elected officials blocked them from putting a data center ban on the November ballot. They’re asking the Ohio Supreme Court to weigh in.
Five residents filed a complaint with the court Thursday, days after Trenton City Council voted to reject a charter amendment petition seeking to prohibit the construction of data centers over 25 megawatts in city limits.
The legal fight centers around the number of signatures gathered for the petition. Residents argue the petition contains the number of signatures required for it to be placed on the November ballot. Council says it doesn’t.
The Butler County Board of Elections verified 336 signatures.
City officials said that number did not meet the threshold established in the city’s charter, which allows amendments when petitions are signed "by 10% of the electors of the municipality."
In an ordinance approved Monday, Council determined "electors" means people qualified to vote. With 8,197 people registered to vote in the Nov. 4, 2025 election, Council said the petition required 820 valid signatures.
Residents argue that interpretation defies statewide legal precedent and direction from the Butler County Board of Elections, which stated 128 signatures was the required amount for the petition.
The resident’s complaint says the Ohio Supreme Court has held the required amount of signatures for a proposed charter amendment "is 10% of the electors of the municipality based upon the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general municipal election."
Additionally, the Ohio Secretary of State’s form for charter amendment petitions states the petition is "to be signed by 10% of the electors, based upon the total vote cast at the last preceding general municipal election."
According to the Butler County Board of Elections, 1,280 people voted in Trenton in the Nov. 4, 2025 election.
Barry Blankenship is one of those who filed the complaint. He says he just wants the city to "let the electors decide what they want."
The residents are asking the court for an expedited writ of mandamus to get the charter amendment on the ballot in November.
This comes as some residents spent months pushing back on a planned 250-megawatt data center that’s being built on 141 acres of former farmland in the city’s industrial park. People have raised concerns from noise pollution to water usage to environment impacts.
The city also has discussed plans for another data center on 600 acres of land bordering Trenton. It's currently seeking to annex the land.
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