4 Rezoning Referendums on November 3rd Ballot

On November 3, 2026, Wilmington residents have a variety of state and local issues on the ballot, including: Ohio governor, aliquor permit for Wawa on Rombach (residents of precinct 2A), three health and senior services renewals, and four referendums on ordinances adopting the rezoning of real property in Wilmington.

On February 19, 2026, Wilmington City Council voted to adopt the rezoning of 545 acres across four parcels between South US 68 and SR 730 from Rural Residential to Light Industrial.

On March 20, 2026, members of Wilmington Residents for Responsible Development—now the "Clinton County Residents for Responsible Development" (CCRRD)—submitted a petition with 1,529 signatures to the City of Wilmington to add four referendums on the November 3 ballot allowing resident a vote on the rezonings.

According to CCRRD organizer, Jessica Sharp, "During sworn testimony in federal court on July 9, 2026, Josh Roth of the [Clinton County Port Authority] affirmed what Attorney Bill Peele suggested during his January 15, 2026, [Wilmington City] Council presentation on the four parcels presently pending ballot referenda this November: the rezonings are tied to a confirmed $6 billion data center project. CCRRD has been campaigning for voters to 'Vote No'... These four parcels would bring the total acreage zoned for data center mega projects to over 1,000 acres at the southwestern corner of the city's boundary."

According to a representative of the four parcels, "These parcels are situated, for the most part, around Light Industrial and General Industrial properties also zoned within the City of Wilmington. A Light Industrial zoning is best situated for these parcels to allow for them to

be developed in the future based upon their location and the need for infrastructure... These parcels are unrelated to the AWS Data Center Project. Ardent Companies terminated their agreement this past summer and as a result these parcels do not have a proposed developer associated with them."

The Clinton County Board of Elections reminds voters that the Cornerstone polling location has been moved to the Fairgrounds.

Learn more at www.boe.ohio.gov/clinton.