Supreme Court: Trenton must place data-center-ban amendment on special election ballot

Trenton City Council must submit to city voters a proposed amendment to the city’s charter that would prohibit the construction of data centers, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled this week.

In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court found that the city council improperly refused to certify a city charter amendment proposed by five city residents who collected more than twice the minimum signatures required to submit the proposed amendment to the voters.

While the individuals sought a court order to place the proposed charter amendment on the Nov. 3 general election ballot, the Court ruled the Ohio Constitution does not require the city to do so and that the city can instead set a special election within the 60-to 120-day timeframe set out in the Constitution.

In August, the city council denied the request to submit the proposed charter amendment to the Butler County Board of Elections after ruling that under the city charter, the citizen group needed to file 820 valid signatures. The group argued that under the Ohio Constitution, it was required to submit only 128 valid signatures, and it had submitted 336.

“In sum, relators have shown by clear and convincing evidence that the council disregarded applicable law,” the Court stated.

Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy and Justices Jennifer Brunner, Joseph T. Deters, Daniel R. Hawkins and Megan E. Shanahan joined the opinion. Justices Patrick F. Fischer and R. Patrick DeWine joined a portion of the opinion and concurred in the judgment.