St. Clair Township Moves to Block Massive Data Center Development

St. Clair Township zoning boards voted on Tuesday to block data centers as a primary land use, following a wave of local pushback against a massive proposed tech campus in the area.

The Butler County Planning Commission and St. Clair Township Zoning Commission both approved an amendment to curb large-scale digital infrastructure developments, WCPO reported. The decision follows a recent local election where nearly 80% of voters in neighboring Trenton approved Issue 17 to restrict data centers larger than 25 megawatts.

Amazon Web Services previously sought to have Trenton annex roughly 600 acres from St. Clair and Madison townships to construct an 18-building data center campus. Although Trenton later backed away from that annexation effort, the initial proposal alarmed local residents whose properties sat adjacent to the targeted land.

Joe Kruger, a St. Clair Township resident and farm owner, learned about the project unexpectedly. His property would have bordered the proposed development zone.

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“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 told WCPO.

Kruger pointed out that his 40-acre farm features four wells, beehives, and quiet rural surroundings that would have been disrupted by an 18-building industrial campus.

Local Zoning Push

John Glenn, a member of the St. Clair Township Zoning Commission, got involved after attending public meetings in Trenton. Living less than half a mile from the proposed site, he sought an appointment to the township commission to advocate for nearby residents.

“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,” Glenn told WCPO.

St. Clair Township moves to block data centers — WCPO 9

The Butler County Planning Commission recommended adding explicit reasoning to the St. Clair amendment regarding electricity, water usage, noise levels, and public well-being.

Glenn emphasized that the new rules do not restrict individual property owners from selling land, but rather evaluate the broader community impact of heavy industrial projects.

“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,” Glenn told WCPO.

Next Steps for Trustees

Tuesday's approvals move the process forward, but the amendment requires final action from the St. Clair Township Board of Trustees to enter the local zoning code.

If the trustees vote to approve the text, the restrictions become official. If they reject the proposal, the zoning process resets.

“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 told WCPO.