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Residents urge council to address traffic, wells, noise and health concerns tied to proposed data center
Summary
During public comment, multiple residents raised objections to a proposed data center and nearby industrial rezoning—citing well impacts, traffic backups, noise limits and air pollution—and asked the council for more outreach and protections; the mayor and councilors said staff are working on traffic management and will follow up on service incidents.
Several Hobart residents used the public‑comment period on March 18 to press the Common Council for more outreach and protections related to a proposed data center and nearby industrial development.
Patricia Corey, 7203 Colorado St., asked whether the City would replace wells that could be affected by the data center project; Mayor Huddlestun replied, "I did not say the City would replace the wells," and said he would look into the ambulance response incidents she described. Corey added that she believes the data center "should not go on 61st Avenue as it is not a dumping ground" and suggested the facility be located downtown instead.
Alice Pawlowski, 2450 Crabapple Lane, raised traffic concerns tied to New Carlisle construction and said at one point "274 cars backed up trying to get into the site." Council members and the mayor said they have discussed off‑site parking for construction workers and bus transportation to reduce road backups.
Jennifer McQuade, 6731 Grand Blvd., said Ross Township residents feel like a "sacrificed zone" after rezoning farmland to industrial uses and expressed worries about diesel generators, air pollution and the adequacy of existing noise limits (she recommended a 55‑decibel standard rather than the current 65‑decibel limit measured at property lines). Council members responded that decibels are measured at property lines and diminish by distance and that the City works to minimize traffic and public‑safety impacts during construction.
Councilmember Claussen and others noted that development provides tax revenue used to support services, and Councilmember Waldrop said a prior trucking warehouse proposal was expected to generate higher truck volumes than the planned data center. Mayor Huddlestun said staff had performed soil borings and that stormwater plans regulate runoff; residents requested baseline groundwater testing prior to construction in order to monitor potential impacts.
The council did not take immediate action on the data center at this meeting but said staff will continue outreach and follow up on the specific service and health concerns raised.
