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Resident Louella urges Franklin County to deny data-center rezoning over endangered-species concerns
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Summary
A Franklin County resident, identified in the meeting as Louella, told commissioners that proposed rezoning for data centers (file no. 250269) could harm a local red-wolf breeding program and other endangered species and asked that the applications be denied and amendments tabled for further study.
A resident identified at the meeting as Louella told the Franklin County Commission she is asking officials to deny several rezoning applications and to pause proposed regulatory changes to allow independent environmental impact studies. "There are less than 20 red wolves left in the wild," Louella said, and she urged the commission to consider a local breeding program she said exists in Franklin County.
Louella told commissioners she had emailed Clerk Jasper and requested an accommodation process after encountering access issues at meetings; she later handed the commission a written email outlining her objections (file no. 250269, which she identified by number). She asked that the first three rezoning requests — including applications tied to Diamond Farms and BLE land holdings — be denied under the Endangered Species Act and that proposed amendments be tabled for more discussion. Louella said the rezoning would convert agricultural land to industrial use and could cause noise, air and other disturbances harmful to wildlife.
Louella cited partnerships she said involve the Saint Louis Zoo, the Endangered Wolf Center and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in regional red-wolf recovery work, and listed other species she said might be affected in Franklin County, including freshwater mussels, the eastern hellbender, multiple bat species and sturgeon. "They are a delicate species on the brink of extinction," she said of the red wolves. She also told the commission she had reviewed Franklin County's master plan and believes the rezoning would conflict with goals on land-use compatibility, stormwater and energy conservation.
Other residents who spoke during public comment echoed concerns about data-center projects. Hayden, identified as being "from Pacific," said residents lack clear answers about water use, power demand, noise and light pollution associated with hyperscale data centers and urged caution before approvals. "The water, the power, the noise ... the light pollution that's gonna happen," Hayden said, noting many residents are unable to attend meetings to raise concerns in person. April Risenhoover identified herself and said she owns 35 acres west of McLarens and handed the commission written materials, saying her property could become uninhabitable if a data center were built nearby.
The concerns raised at this meeting were public comment; the commission did not take a formal vote on rezoning or on the regulatory amendments during this session. Commissioners asked for a copy of Louella's written email and for staff to review the submitted materials. The record shows Louella requested either denial of the listed applications or tabling of the amendments pending further study; the commission did not announce any decision on file no. 250269 at this meeting.
Provenance: The discussion and public comments on data centers, file no. 250269, and endangered-species concerns appear in the meeting transcript beginning with comments on data-center issues and Louella's remarks about accommodations and rezoning (topic first introduced at SEG 051) and conclude when Louella and other residents finished public comment and handed written materials to the commission (topic last referenced at SEG 311).
