A group of Wilmington residents has filed a lawsuit against the city, arguing that officials did not follow legally required procedures before approving zoning changes connected to a proposed Amazon Web Services data center. The complaint was filed by resident Jessica Sharp, who leads a local group called Wilmington Residents for Responsible Development.

According to the filing, the city approved two zoning measures. One was a text amendment that allows data centers within light industrial districts. The other was a map amendment for the specific property where AWS plans to build. The lawsuit claims the city did not publish required notices in the local newspaper and did not mail notices to nearby property owners as state law requires.

AWS owns the land where the facility is planned, but the company is not named as a defendant. The lawsuit focuses entirely on the city’s actions. It alleges that the zoning approvals were made without transparency and could negatively affect surrounding property values. The complaint also includes an inverse condemnation claim, which argues that the city’s decisions could amount to taking or damaging property without compensation.

Sharp said the group intends to seek an injunction to pause the project while the case moves forward. She said the goal is not to block development entirely. Instead, the group wants to ensure that zoning decisions are made lawfully and with proper public involvement.

Sharp, who lives near the proposed site, said she moved to the area for its quiet environment and did not expect a large scale data center to be built next to her home. She believes the city has been too permissive with zoning approvals for major industrial technology projects. She also argues that a hyperscale data center does not align with the intended purpose of light industrial zoning, which is meant to prevent negative impacts on neighboring properties.

City officials have not issued public comment on the lawsuit. AWS is not accused of wrongdoing in the filing.