JANESVILLE — Janesville residents on Tuesday voted a referendum that will shape the future of development in the city.
As of 9 p.m., with 33 out of 40 precincts counted in the GM/JATCO referendum, the yes votes lead no, 10,474 to 6,286.
View the live unofficial vote county from the Rock County Clerk’s office HERE.
The vote means that down the road, residents will get a chance to vote up or down on a data center or any other large development at the site over $450 million.
A no vote means any future large development on the site would be up to the city council.
The current referendum is the result of the successful direct legislation petition in January at the height of the most recent data center debate.
Supporters of the measure say that dissatisfaction with the previous approval of the now-dropped data center plan shows the need for direct community participation in deciding the future of the site.
The group urging a no vote says approving the measure could doom any future development of the dormant site because developers wouldn’t want to risk investing in plans that could be shot down by voters.