Hobart residents press board to require independent groundwater testing and delay Amazon data‑center fill permit

At a meeting of the Hobart City Redevelopment Authority, residents and property owners asked elected officials to pause and demand independent groundwater and engineering studies before the city advances a fill permit tied to a proposed Amazon data‑center.

Speakers at length described worries that mass grading and dewatering could alter groundwater flow, mobilize contaminants and harm private wells used by homes and small farms. "This is a deal breaker for us, and we will have to leave," said a resident who identified health concerns including multiple sclerosis and worries about well contamination and noise. Several petitioners also raised traffic and erosion fears and urged the city not to approve large‑scale earthwork before final site plans and stormwater controls are complete.

The appeals under review concern a permit that residents say authorizes grading on hundreds of acres and is being considered before final engineering. Eric Morris, representing property owners including a farm at 6716 Colorado Street, said the permit “authorizes mass grading on approximately 605 acres” while final access points, site configuration and stormwater designs remain unresolved. He asked the board to require an independent stormwater and groundwater study, adopt a no‑net‑increase runoff standard, create written elevation and drainage guarantees, require a stormwater performance bond or escrow, and ensure baseline well surveys and ongoing monitoring funded by the applicant.

Elizabeth Scagliardi, owner of Excelsior Equestrian Center, said her property sits in the Deep River watershed and described concerns that disturbed soils and run‑off could increase sediment and harm wetlands, wells and farm operations. Barbara Telles questioned the proximity of dozens of proposed buildings to residences and said she had not found evidence that property values elsewhere had declined, but warned the scale and location of the project made the site unlike other data‑center developments.

Procedural objections were also raised. Evangelina Soriano argued that municipal code requires site‑plan review before a fill permit and said public notices and internal permit records appeared inconsistent across cited chapters of the Hobart code. Jennifer McWhite urged the city to conduct comprehensive, independent baseline groundwater testing and publicly release results, and to require a hydrogeological assessment of how dewatering could affect groundwater movement.

Board staff told petitioners the Plan Commission had provided findings of fact and that written copies would be supplied to appellants. The board did not make a final determination on the appeals at the meeting; instead, staff and the Chair said the appeals will be considered at the Board of Works meeting on the 18th, and that petitioners would receive written determinations. The chair also noted petitioners may request an executive session for legal questions ahead of the public decision.

While much of the meeting centered on the appeals and public comment, the board approved several routine items: a contract renewal the staff recommended moving forward with; sign/finance approvals for six downtown businesses through Oct. 31; cancellation of the annual sidewalk event; a $43,000 design and bid agreement with 1st Group Engineers to prepare plans for a city CCMG streets package; authorization for a downtown film shoot March 22–25 (with police to be kept apprised); and setting an unsafe‑building order at 312 North Canton Street over to the April 1 meeting to allow the owner time to achieve substantial compliance.

The board recorded motions and affirmative votes on the routine items at the meeting. For the appeals, the board scheduled the next procedural step rather than issuing final rulings: the determination will be made at the next Board of Works meeting and written findings will be provided to appellants.