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Residents press Jefferson County leaders over ERRA and proposed data center; officials say designation alone does not authorize construction
Summary
Public comment at the June 9 council meeting was dominated by opposition to a proposed data center and questions about an Economic Revitalization Reinvestment Area (ERRA). Officials said ERRA designation is a development tool and that zoning, building permits and state/federal reviews will determine whether a data center can be built.
Residents packed the public-comment portion of the Jefferson County Council meeting on June 9 to press elected officials over a proposed data center and the county’s recent Economic Revitalization Reinvestment Area (ERRA) designation.
"I don't know all of your names. I'm glad to offer you my information," said Freda Cheney of 796 East State Route 250, who described living adjacent to Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge and said she feared the project would bring noise, pollution and displacement. "I would implore you to slow down, take it easy, just think this thing over," Cheney said in her allotted time.
Other speakers, including Steve Roner, raised environmental and procedural concerns and cited examples in other states where large data centers coincided with local environmental problems.
Council members and commissioners responded that designating an ERRA is a marketing and fiscal tool, not a building permit. A council speaker said the ERRA "just said, 'Hey, we're out there. We want to develop that area.'" County officials repeatedly noted that zoning determinations, the building-permit process, and any environmental permitting or infrastructure reviews are handled through the plan commission, the zoning administrator, the Board of Zoning Appeals and appropriate state or federal agencies.
A council member emphasized the limits of the council's authority: "We don't have anything to do" with site-level zoning or permits, saying the county’s role is primarily fiscal. The group also said it would raise resident concerns with state and federal decision-makers and that no one on the dais supports closing Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge.
What was not settled at the meeting: whether any design or engineering plans had been submitted; local speakers and officials agreed that technical reviews of wastewater, water use and electric infrastructure would occur during formal permit review, and those permitting processes would include state oversight.
Provenance: public comments begin at SEG 2334 and extended ERRA/zoning discussion runs through SEG 2916.
Speakers quoted: Freda Cheney (resident), Steve Roner (resident). Council and commissioners spoke collectively in response.
