Updated Sept. 4:
The Trenton City Council approved a resident-led petition on Sept. 3, placing a charter amendment banning large-scale projects on the November ballot. Though the court ordered Trenton to hold a special election in 60-120 days, Mayor Ryan Perry said the council was unsure whether it could put the issue on November's ballot until the Butler County Prosecutor's Office confirmed a special election can be held at the same time as a general election.
Original Post, Sept. 1:
The fight over data centers in a small city in Butler County is continuing. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Trenton must let residents vote on a data center ban. It's unclear if the issue will be on the November ballot or if the city will set a special election in 60 to 120 days.
In July, a group of Trenton neighbors opposing two large-scale projects submitted a charter amendment petition to city council seeking to prohibit the construction of data centers. The residents gathered 336 valid signatures, far more than the 128 signatures required by state law, based on the number of people who cast ballots in the last municipal election. They said that should be enough to put the charter amendment before voters this fall.
But, city council rejected the petition, claiming it didn't have enough signatures. Council decided under the city charter, the citizen group needed to file 820 valid signatures, based on the number of people registered to vote at the last municipal election.
The Ohio Supreme Court found Trenton City Council improperly refused to certify the charter amendment and "disregarded applicable law." The court ordered the city to certify the petition and send it to the Butler County Board of Elections.
Barry Blankenship is one of the residents who brought the case. He says he's happy with the court's decision.
“I did realize today that grown men do cry because it made me sit down and shed a tear because the fight we've had and all we put into this and what we're trying to do for our community, it humbles you and it makes you feel like we're doing something right for our community," Blankenship told WVXU.
He adds, he hopes being able to vote on the proposed charter amendment allows residents’ voices to be heard on the issue of data centers in their backyards.
Trenton’s mayor and city attorney didn't return a request for comment by the time of publication.
Last month, the court ordered the village of Ashville to submit residents' petition against a data center to the Pickaway County Board of Elections.
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