Residents press council over proposed data center, citing traffic, noise and water concerns

Residents warned the Hobart council on March 18 that a proposed data center and related annexation could harm local wells, strain emergency response and reduce quality of life, prompting calls for baseline environmental testing and stricter local rules.

Patricia Corey (speaker 7), who identified her address to the council, opposed siting the facility near 61st and 69th avenues and asked the mayor for a written assurance about residents’ wells if they are impacted. "If it would happen to go through, can I get a statement from you on that for records?" she asked. Corey also described an ambulance delay at her home and urged the city to follow up with the fire department about response times.

Jennifer McQuaid (speaker 11), who spoke during public comment and identified her address, said Ross Township residents feel they were made a "sacrifice zone" after long-standing annexation and rezoning decisions. McQuaid urged the council to require baseline groundwater and soil testing before further work and to consider lowering the city’s noise ordinance for new construction. "We should know what's on that ground and in that now before we let them do anything to it," she said.

Several residents raised specific technical worries about the data center: possible air emissions from dozens of diesel backup generators during testing and maintenance, nighttime lighting, traffic from workers and construction, and how any dewatering during construction could concentrate legacy agricultural chemicals in the subsurface. One commenter summarized the community concern: that the cumulative effects of a large industrial campus could be worse than alternative land uses and that protections should be put in place before construction proceeds.

City officials responded that the data center project and other nearby projects are different in scope and that planning staff are working on traffic studies, off-site parking and staging plans intended to reduce roadway backups. Staff (speaker 10) told the council that soil and other permitting materials have been filed for the project and said the city would follow established stormwater and silt-control procedures. Mayor (speaker 1) said the city has engaged in traffic and site planning and that the administration has been meeting with stakeholders.

Speakers on both sides pressed the council about noise standards. McQuaid argued for a 55-decibel standard at property lines for new construction; the mayor and other officials said noise attenuation over distance and site-specific mitigation can change measured impacts and that adjusting the ordinance would have broader implications across the city.

Several speakers asked the council to convene meetings with the developer, utility companies and residents to share data and answer technical questions; staff agreed to pursue follow-ups and to provide additional information. Residents also requested the city test and publish baseline groundwater and soil data before major earth-moving or dewatering activity.

Next steps: a voluntary annexation for nearby land tied to the broader development was introduced earlier in the meeting and staff said public hearings are planned (the annexation petition was set for public hearing in mid-April during the meeting). The council encouraged residents to submit written reports, and staff said they would follow up on specific emergency-response and environmental testing questions.