La Porte plan commission backs Microsoft rezoning after hours of testimony

The La Porte Plan Commission on a unanimous vote recommended that the La Porte City Council rezone approximately 1,283.49 acres from agricultural and single‑family residential districts to M‑1 light industrial to allow expansion of a planned Microsoft data‑center campus.

The commission heard a multi‑part presentation from petitioner counsel Andrea Townsend and Microsoft land‑development manager Mike Stockwell, who said statutory notice requirements were met and described site plans, buffers and community benefits. Townsend said the rezoning is contingent on a pending super‑voluntary annexation before the city council and argued the proposal satisfies the five statutory factors in Indiana code for a zone‑map change.

Townsend and Microsoft representatives described the site as roughly 1,285 acres on La Porte's southeast side, adjacent to Boyd Boulevard, State Road 4 and U.S. 35, and said Microsoft already owns about 500 acres nearby. Stockwell said Microsoft will pay for required electric, water and roadway upgrades, will not seek local tax abatements, and plans closed‑loop cooling systems that require minimal operational water. The company proposed more than 300 feet of separation between buildings and adjacent property lines in conceptual designs and said it will complete detailed noise and water modeling during design.

Supporters including La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody, Bert Cook of the La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership and several school leaders and regional business groups said the project could deliver long‑term tax revenue and jobs and help stabilize school finances. Several speakers representing the La Porte Community School Corporation and the Northwest Indiana Forum praised a commitment to allocate 15% of project real‑estate tax revenue to local schools over 20 years.

Opponents who live adjacent to the proposed expansion urged caution. Samantha Brown, who said her home sits roughly 20 feet from the parcel slated for rezoning, said a data center would bring constant noise, lighting and security activity and warned that a 300‑foot buffer may not protect neighboring homeowners. Michael Johnson, who works as an audio professional, asked that site‑specific acoustic studies and enforceable noise and generator‑testing limits be completed before a permanent rezoning is approved; several other residents raised similar concerns about low‑frequency noise and diesel generator testing.

City staff recommended approval, noting the site is in or adjacent to a planned urban expansion area and that the proposed use is consistent with the countywide land development plan. Staff recorded the total acreage as 1,283.49 and said most infrastructure costs for extension of sewer, water and roads would be borne by the developer. During the meeting Microsoft confirmed preliminary estimates of roughly 50 permanent jobs per building, and testimony earlier in the record projected employee counts 'building to 200 employees by 2032.'

After questions and discussion, commissioners took two separate, required motions: first to rezone the parcels outside the city limits from A (agriculture) to M‑1 light industrial, then to rezone the exception parcel already inside the city (parcel ID 46‑11‑06‑400‑079‑000‑058) from R1B single‑family residential to M‑1. Both motions passed unanimously and will be forwarded to the La Porte City Council for final action. The commission recorded several plat approvals later in the meeting as contingent on the pending annexation.

The petitioners and city staff said additional technical work remains: Microsoft committed to complete noise studies, water modeling and traffic studies during design and to work with adjacent residents to address concerns. The matter will return to the city council in the annexation and rezoning proceedings.