Grove City Voters Approve Issue 28, Requiring Citywide Votes on Large Developments Including Data Centers

Grove City voters have approved a city charter amendment that will require a citywide vote for developments above a certain size, a measure that could significantly reshape how large-scale projects — including data centers — move forward in the community. Issue 28 passed with 54.61% of voters approving the amendment, according to unofficial results from the Franklin County Board of Elections.

The amendment was brought to the ballot by Protect Grove City, a grassroots organization seeking to use the measure to thwart data center development in the city. The charter amendment was opposed by Save Grove City, a group created by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, which argued the amendment was too broad and could hurt development in Grove City.

Organizers behind the initiative celebrated the result as a victory for resident engagement on major land-use decisions. "We are extremely proud. We are extremely grateful for the residents of Grove City who showed up to make their voices heard because that's what Issue 28 has been all about all along," organizer Karen Church said. "This is just, this is one step of many to make sure that the residents have a voice on the largest developments that could change the landscape of the city."

Patricia Spillman, another Protect Grove City organizer, was overcome with emotion Tuesday. While she is a resident of Pleasant Township rather than Grove City, her farm sits across the street from properties a developer wants to turn into a data center campus. "I can't even begin to even vocalize how I feel, just knowing that the rest of Grove City came together and to back the township," Spillman said. "It's just now setting in with me that this actually passed and that we are going to have a voice through the neighbors that live in town."

The apparent victory for Issue 28 echoes a broader trend across Ohio of voters rejecting data center developments, with several cities moving to ban data centers within their city limits. The outcome in Grove City underscores growing local resistance to large-scale digital infrastructure projects and could signal further scrutiny for developers seeking to build data center campuses in central Ohio and beyond.