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Residents urged to attend planning commission hearing after rumors of data center proposal
Summary
Residents raised concerns about a proposed data center (companies cited as AFI/AB Energy) and about partial email chains circulating on social media. The planning commission moved the matter to a public hearing; county leaders urged residents to attend the public hearing to review materials and voice concerns.
Dozens of residents attended to ask about a proposed data center and to challenge how information about the proposal was circulated. Planning-commission representatives said the company had provided parcel numbers and had asked for a private meeting; the planning commission declined a private meeting and moved the matter to a public hearing. A commissioner noted the moment's sensitivity because social media posts had shown partial email excerpts that inflamed public concern.
Speakers said the planning commission will schedule a public hearing (publication rules delayed the earliest hearing date because the county paper prints every two weeks); commissioners urged residents to compile questions, photographs and documentation and to attend the hearing. One resident said that, if the community wanted to stop a data center, an ordinance at the county and possibly town level would be required to prevent rezoning or permit applications.
Why it matters: large-scale data centers can affect local infrastructure, water and traffic; community engagement at the planning-commission hearing will be the formal venue for making concerns part of the official record.
Next steps: planning commission will post hearing date on the county website when publication requirements are met and will invite the company to present its proposal at the hearing.
