Ohio farmers fear new proposal would allow data centers to take property

The Ohio Capital Journal
Morgan Trau
June 10, 2026

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KEEP IN MIND… This is PRIVATE PROPERTY. Once the land is gone, it will be gone forever

A new proposal by a business trade group is causing Ohio farmers to fear that the state and utility companies could take private property to build data centers. This idea would also allow entities to take the land before the owner gets paid.

In a document we obtained, the Ohio Business Roundtable, a powerful trade group that lobbies at the Statehouse, recommended that lawmakers change eminent domain law, and “should extend possession authority to energy infrastructure projects once public use and necessity have been established.”

“We are aware of efforts to further erode the limited protections that landowners have, allowing for quick take of property without first paying for the property and determining a landowner’s rights and compensation through a court of law,” the Ohio Farm Bureau’s Evan Callicoat said.

The Farm Bureau isn’t opposed to data centers, but they are opposed to a violation of property rights, Callicoat said. He fears that with this proposed idea, it’s broad enough that farmers could lose their land to data centers, not getting paid for it for months or years.

The Roundtable’s Nick Rhodes said that’s not how it is meant to be used.

“That wouldn’t really meet the threshold of public use; there is the question of infrastructure, and I think that’s an open question,” Rhodes said.

The program is called ‘deposit and build,’ and it’s modeled after a system that 45 other states use.

Right now, eminent domain law allows for federal, state and local governments to take property for public use. The Ohio Power Siting Board controls the installation of utility facilities, including power lines, some gas pipelines, and wind farms. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio can also help utility companies acquire land.

A utility will approach a homeowner for land, and must provide them with a “fair” market price. If the owner refuses to sell, the utility company will take them to court and will need to determine “necessity” for the land. If a court sides with the utility company, deeming it necessary to take, the appraised value of the land is given to a court account. However, the owner can appeal this decision to fight for more money. While this court battle is going on, construction is not allowed to begin.

Rhodes said that once the court determines that the state or utility company can have the land, construction should be allowed to begin. Currently, these projects could be delayed for years by the court process, he added.

“The entity should be able to take possession and proceed with their project, and then compensation appeals can continue,” Rhodes said.

Landowners deserve their day in court, Callicoat said, adding that no one should be taking over land before money changes hands.

“To allow any other type of development to have that type of structure and process would just be very, very bad for our state,” he added in an interview. “Our farmers are definitely concerned about that.”

Data center companies do not hold the power of eminent domain, but Callicoat says that this version could eventually allow for it.

“Many of the services and utilities that they require do hold that authority,” he said.

I asked state Sen. Brian Chavez what he thought about the deposit and build idea.

“That’s a very hot topic,” Chavez responded. “I don’t think that we’re ready to address anything like that in such a short time span.”

Still, I pressed for his view.

“Do you agree with the people who are speaking today and the first day who say that data centers are part of a public good?” I asked him.

“I don’t know how you would quantify a public good, but it’s a public necessity,” the Republican responded. “They’re a part of our lives and everything that we’re doing.”

He noted the cameras all filming him, adding that the data must go somewhere.

“It’s ubiquitous,” Chavez said. “It’s a necessity.”

If data centers are a necessity, that could pave the way for leniency in taking over land, Callicoat said.

Even if data centers aren’t the main target for the eminent domain change, he said his members won’t support a takeover of their land, one where they won’t even get money for years.

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