Saint Clair Township moves to block data centers after neighboring Trenton voters reject large-scale projects

Farms, wells, and backyards along one stretch of St. Clair Township could have found themselves neighbors to a massive data center campus. But on Tuesday, two zoning boards moved to keep that from happening.

The Butler County Planning Commission and St. Clair Township Zoning Commission both approved an amendment that would block data centers as a primary land use in the township.

"The court of public opinion has found itself on the ballot. It's found itself on the ballot. People have spoken overwhelmingly. It wasn't even close," a Butler County zoning commissioner said.

WATCH:

Saint Clair Township moves to block data centers

For St. Clair Township resident and farm owner Joe Kruger, the debate hit especially close to home.

"Total shock. I had no idea," Kruger said of first learning about the proposed development. "I felt like this was put in under the radar initially with the annexation attempt by Trenton. We had no choice, and that really bothered me."

Kruger said his 40-acre farm would have been surrounded by land tied to the proposed development.

"This is a 40-acre farm. We've got bees. We have four wells. It's peaceful, tranquil. I enjoy it, and it was something that was going to be taken away from us," he said.

Amazon Web Services wanted Trenton to annex roughly 600 acres from St. Clair and Madison townships to make way for an 18-building data center campus. Trenton later backed out of the annexation effort.

Then last week, nearly 80% of Trenton voters approved Issue 17, restricting data centers larger than 25 megawatts in the city.

Now, neighboring St. Clair Township is moving to write its own restrictions into its zoning code.

"Let's go celebrate," Kruger said after the Butler County Planning Commission's vote. "I'm really excited about it. So democracy has spoken. The people have spoken."

Kruger said the debate goes beyond whether data centers should be built. For him, the question is whether a development of that scale fits the character of the area.

"This is a residential farmland area that we really preserve and are prideful of," Kruger said. "How are the people in that area affected adversely? What's the cost benefit? What's the positive and the negative of this?"

Kruger said he believes there is significant value in preserving the township as it exists today.

"There's definitely a huge benefit in maintaining what we have now, and continuing to maintain that, and the cost would be huge," he said.

How St. Clair's zoning fight started

John Glenn, a member of the St. Clair Township Zoning Commission, said his involvement in the issue began after he attended a meeting in Trenton about the proposed data center.

Glenn said he lives less than half a mile from where the project was proposed and began looking for a way to become involved in decisions affecting the township.

"I started watching what was going on around me and seeing kids playing, and there was a handful of people fighting for them, and I wanted to fight for them," Glenn said.

Glenn said he asked township officials how he could get involved and learned there was an opening on the zoning commission. After trustees appointed him, he said he immediately began pushing for regulations addressing data centers.

Residents, he said, continued approaching him with concerns.

"They just expressed their feelings that they didn't want it in their town," Glenn said. "They was concerned about it being right by, in their backyards, concerned about their animals, concerned about their kids, and it made me want to fight even harder."

The Butler County Planning Commission recommended St. Clair add language to the amendment more explicitly outlining its reasoning, including concerns involving electricity, water, noise, and public well-being.

Glenn said the amendment isn't intended to tell individual property owners what they can or cannot sell. Instead, he said commissioners are weighing the wider impact of large-scale data centers on the township.

"It's not that we're against people selling property or what goes in," Glenn said. "It's just the effects of it outweigh the good that it would bring, ten to one. That's what I said when I proposed this to the commissioners, and that's what I believe."

Glenn said he believes the commission is responding to what it has heard from the broader township.

"My job is not just two or three people; it's a little bit over 6,000 people," Glenn said. "The majority won that they did not want a data center impacting their township, so that's our job, is to try to help take care of the citizens, and that's what we're doing."

One major step remains

Despite Tuesday's approvals, the amendment is not yet final.

It now heads to the St. Clair Township Board of Trustees, which will have the final say on whether the amendment becomes part of the township's zoning regulations.

If trustees approve it, Glenn said the restrictions would take effect. If they reject it, the zoning process would have to begin again.

"If they approve it, it takes effect into our zoning regulations," Glenn said. "If they deny it, then we start back over, but we don't stop fighting."

Glenn said he is optimistic about the amendment's chances.

"We're doing this. All came up from what the township people wanted, what the citizens kept telling me they wanted," he said.

For Glenn, the broader debate isn't necessarily about whether data centers should exist, but where developments of that size belong.

"Better locations. That's all it takes," Glenn said. "Better locations and listen to your residents, and then you will have a long, successful, joyful community."

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.