The village of Ashville improperly blocked a ballot referendum that aims to challenge a controversial data center, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Aug. 7.
The court sided with three Ashville residents who sued fiscal officer April Grube after Grube rejected the ballot measure. The referendum seeks to overturn a term sheet for an agreement between the village and EdgeConneX over a data center and natural gas facility.
The Ashville Village Council approved the measure in April and declared an emergency, arguing the project shouldn't be "unnecessarily delayed." The move came after EdgeConneX requested an emergency designation, according to court records. Emergency laws are not subject to ballot referendums.
But the state Supreme Court said the resolution wasn't a true emergency.
"All emergency measures are presumably designated as such because commencement of the underlying matter should not be delayed," the court stated. "But (the resolution) does not explain why waiting 30 days for the resolution to take effect would unnecessarily delay the EdgeConneX project."
The fight in Ashville comes amid a broader reckoning over data centers in Ohio. Residents have flooded government meetings to oppose developments. State officials and political candidates, under pressure from constituents and voters, have started calling for more restrictions on companies that build them.
The Aug. 7 ruling is a victory for Ashville residents, but it doesn't guarantee their referendum will make the Nov. 3 ballot. Grube must now submit the issue to the Pickaway County Board of Elections for a final decision.
Still, former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann − who represents an organization called Data Center Resistance − is optimistic about their prospects. And he said the court's decision is a win for communities statewide who want to push back on data centers through the referendum process.
"We'll get our first democratic process around a decision to bring a data center to town," Dann said. "Everyone can make their arguments fair and square in the public square."
An EdgeConneX spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at [email protected] or @haleybemiller on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Supreme Court sides with Ashville residents who oppose data center