Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Data Center topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge council to reject or tighten rules on proposed data center, citing health, noise and water worries
Summary
Several residents told the Hobart council they oppose a proposed data‑center project and annexation in Ross Township, raising concerns about wells, ambulance access, noise and groundwater; the council said traffic and environmental studies are underway and agreed to follow up on specific complaints.
Residents took up more than an hour of the Hobart City Redevelopment Authority meeting on March 18 to press the council on a proposed data‑center development tied to recent annexation activity, urging either rejection or strict, project‑specific protections.
Patricia Corey (S10), who identified herself and gave a city address, told the council she and neighbors want a written pledge that wells would be replaced if a development affects their groundwater. "If it would happen to go through, can I get a statement from you on that for records?" she asked the mayor. The mayor replied he had not made such a promise and said staff would follow up on ambulance call records Corey had described after a frightening delayed response to her mother.
Other residents focused on health, noise and quality‑of‑life concerns. Jennifer McQuaid (S11) said Ross Township residents feel they are being treated as a "sacrifice zone" by rezoning that shifts land from farmland or residential uses to industrial zoning. "It feels like you have turned us into a sacrifice zone," McQuaid said, calling for stronger local protections and baseline environmental testing before any major construction.
Speakers cited specific technical and procedural requests: baseline groundwater and soil testing before any dewatering; a study of noise propagation and consideration of lowering the municipal noise standard for new construction; clearer traffic‑management and off‑site parking plans to avoid blocking arterials during construction. McQuaid urged the council to require a data‑center ordinance similar to those other municipalities have adopted, with "real protections in place."
Council members and staff repeatedly said the city is conducting traffic and technical studies and that many mitigation measures are part of project review. The mayor said the project developer has submitted soils and other technical filings and that stormwater and dewatering work is governed by permits and plans; he also acknowledged residents' concerns and agreed to provide additional information where available.
The public exchange included factual claims and disputed assertions. Residents alleged possible groundwater impacts from dewatering and cited incidents in other jurisdictions; staff and one council member responded that the Oregon example described involved cooling‑system evaporation practices rather than simple dewatering and emphasized that project engineers submit required technical reports.
What happens next: the council introduced a voluntary annexation petition for a roughly 6.66‑acre parcel on the I‑65/37th Avenue corridor and moved to set a public hearing (annexation process is proceeding separately from tonight's public comments). Residents asked the council to require baseline testing and to schedule more public meetings with developers and utilities (NIPSCO and the project proponent) so questions about wells, traffic and noise can be addressed before final approvals.
