Trenton council agrees to begin annexation petition amid heated public opposition to data centers

Residents crowded the Trenton council chamber on April 16 to press elected officials over recent land sales and plans for industrial development, particularly a large data center project. Dozens of speakers told the council they first learned about the project late and said the city failed to provide meaningful, timely notice or to pause approvals while infrastructure and environmental studies were completed.

In emotional public comment, John Glenn, who said he lives on the outskirts of Trenton, asked, “What am I supposed to do if this place blows up? What am I supposed to do if it gives off some kind of radiation? I got two kids.” Other residents raised property-value, noise, stormwater and farmland-loss concerns. One speaker, Miss Markham, told the council she was “livid” that annexation materials were posted within the minimum legal notice period and said residents had been asking for transparency for months.

Mayor Perry and staff repeatedly told the chamber the council was not voting to annex land that night but to start the formal petition process at the request of property owners. “We are not voting to annex anything tonight. We are voting to start the process,” Perry said, adding that the county and affected townships will review services and that no property will be annexed without further votes and reviews.

City staff described the planning steps that remain. Mr. Nichols explained that site infrastructure elements such as stormwater drainage and related engineering calculations remain under review by the city’s licensed engineer and the developer’s engineers. “We won’t allow them to move forward until our licensed engineer has approved those things as it fits our codes and our standards,” he said.

Council also held public hearings and then adopted a package of zoning and definitions related to parks/open space and a public institutional district. The council approved by roll call a motion authorizing the city manager to file an annexation petition for properties in Madison and St. Clair townships, which begins a county-level review; the vote was recorded in the meeting minutes and the city said the petitioning step does not grant any immediate land-use changes.

Residents urged council to pause any grading or permits until stormwater and utility studies are completed and publicly reviewed. Several speakers said they observed excavation and deliveries at the site and asked for a dedicated public meeting to review infrastructure findings before final decisions are made. City staff said the site plan and zoning approvals that planning commission already granted were preliminary and that administrative review of drainage, utilities and other infrastructure will continue.

Next steps: the annexation petition will be routed to Butler County and to the townships for procedural review; any future zoning or construction approvals would follow separate review processes and, where required, public hearings.