Wilmington voters turned down all four rezoning measures on Tuesday's ballot, keeping roughly 546 acres in rural residential use instead of shifting them to light industrial, based on unofficial tallies from the Clinton County Board of Elections.
Each ordinance stood as its own referendum question. Approving a measure meant backing the rezoning; rejecting it preserved the existing classification. The margins were lopsided, with the no side drawing about 80% in every race, from 2,885 votes against Ordinance O-26-04 to 2,909 against Ordinance O-26-07. Support ranged from 716 to 739 votes.
The parcels involved were 119.373 acres on State Route 730, 65.29 acres at 1957 State Route 730, 191.12 acres on McGuinn Road and 170.11 acres on U.S. 68 South. The land sits next to or near a proposed Amazon Web Services data center campus at 1488 U.S. 68 South.
Clinton County Residents for Responsible Development, which circulated petitions in March that forced the referenda, welcomed the result. Organizer Jessica Sharp said in a statement that the group was pleased voters had been heard and that the rezoning effort tied to the former Ardent data center proposal had been overturned. She said the organization would keep watching for future data center plans while taking comfort in the preservation of the area's rural character.
City Council had passed each ordinance Feb. 19 on a 5-2 vote, with Jeff Earley, Dennis Gherman, Jamie Knowles, Kelly Tolliver and Don Wells in favor and Josh Schlabach and Michael Snarr opposed. Attorney Bill Peelle, representing the property owners, identified Ardent as the prospective buyer; the Atlanta firm is affiliated with TAC Data Centers.