SUNBURY — Voters overwhelmingly passed a city charter amendment that will prohibit large-scale data center construction in Sunbury, according to unofficial, final results from the Delaware County Board of Elections.
A total of 3,572 votes were cast across six precincts. With 2,809 votes to pass (78.64%) against 763 votes not to pass (21.36%), data center construction will officially be prohibited in the city.
The results remain unofficial until the Board of Elections completes its official count and certifies the election.
The citizen-initiated charter amendment aimed to prohibit construction of data centers with an aggregate monthly energy demand or peak load exceeding 25 megawatts. The ballot measure followed months of debate over a proposed Amazon data center complex.
Sunbury City Council voted unanimously in July to place the citizen-led amendment on the ballot.
A local group called Big Walnut for Responsible Growth led the signature collection to get the effort in front of city council.
One of the petition’s sponsors, Trey Dockendorf, provided a statement to Delaware Source following voters’ decision to pass the amendment.
“The residents of Sunbury sent a strong message that we don’t want large-scale data centers near our homes,” Dockendorf said.
“We are thankful for so many volunteers who have worked to empower our community and the residents who came out to exercise their voices.
“Myself and many in the community are thrilled that our local grassroots effort was successful and that all our work has paid off to protect our community.”
