A proposed amendment to the City of Johnstown’s charter that would ban large data centers has gathered enough signatures to move forward for a vote, but the petition arrived so close to the deadline for the ballot that the amendment likely will not appear on the ballot during the Nov. 3 election.
And if the council does not meet before Friday afternoon, the city could have to pay for a special election to allow voters to decide the issue.
The petition outlines the addition of Section 10.07 to Article X of the charter, which would prohibit the construction of various types of data centers and those that exceed a combined monthly demand of 25 megawatts from any energy source.
For a charter amendment to appear on a ballot, petitioners must gather a number of signatures equivalent to 10% of the total number of votes cast at the most recent general municipal election. That meant for the petition to appear on the ballot in Johnstown, petitioners needed to secure approximately 123 validated signatures.
They submitted 180 signatures to the Board of Elections on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and the board validated 133 of them.
But to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, the Johnstown City Council would have to approve the measure before Friday, Sept. 4 – the deadline for charter amendments to appear on the ballot.
Johnstown Council Clerk Teresa Monroe said Thursday morning that the last-minute petition submission left the council struggling to meet quorum requirements for a special meeting before the Friday deadline. She said the earliest the council might be able to meet in full is Tuesday, Sept. 8, after the Labor Day holiday on Monday.
Similar petitions have been approved for the Nov. 3 ballot elsewhere in Licking County. Voters in Pataskala and Granville will be able to cast votes on a large data-center ban amendment. A Petition drives in Heath have brought in more than enough signatures for a data-center amendment to appear on the ballot, but because the petitioners failed to get enough valid signatures the first time they submitted them, the city would not accept them at the direction of Heath Law Director David Morrison.
A lawyer for the petitioners disagrees with Heath’s position. It’s possible that Heath also could face a special election on the issue.
Licking County is currently home to 49 data centers – approved, under construction or in operation.
Licking County Board of Elections Deputy Director Brian Mead said the Johnstown City Council has until 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, to pass an ordinance to put the issue on the November ballot. He said if they do not meet the deadline, the issue would not be seen until after November, and could result in a costly special election.
“The fewer things on an actual election makes it more expensive,” Mead said.
The next scheduled city council meeting is 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Tyler K. Thompson writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.
Thompson is one of two Kirtley Mather Fellows at The Reporting Project. The fellowship is created in memory of Kirtley Mather, Denison Class of 1909, with the mission of providing unique opportunities for students to engage in service for the common good.