Residents urge city to delay massive fill permit tied to proposed data center, citing water and health risks

Public commenters urged the Hobart City Redevelopment Authority on multiple occasions to delay or reverse a fill permit they say enables a large data-center development, arguing the city lacks the engineering and groundwater data needed to protect nearby wells and neighborhoods. The board heard detailed appeals and said written determinations would be issued at the Board of Works meeting on the 18th.

Barbara Telles, introduced by the board as the first appellant, told the authority the fill permit is “just one step in the final building of the data center” and warned that 25 buildings and associated construction traffic would harm nearby residents’ health and property values. “Can you imagine trucks idling on 61st Avenue when little kids are outside their homes waiting for the school bus?” she said, linking traffic and safety concerns to the scale of the proposed work.

Several residents raised groundwater and dewatering concerns. A resident who said she built a home in 2023 near the proposed site told the board her private well sits roughly a half-mile from the project and asked what protective measures would prevent cross-contamination during hundreds of soil borings and any dewatering. She said people in the area keep bees and that noise, vibrations and electromagnetic fields could harm pollinators and the health of people with chronic conditions.

A petitioner’s representative asked the city to require comprehensive independent baseline groundwater testing — including nitrates and other agricultural or industrial contaminants — before approving any permits that could require deep dewatering. The representative warned that ‘‘without clear baseline data, neither the city nor residents will have any objective way to determine whether groundwater quality changes following permit approval.’’

Eric Morris, who said he represents property owners near the site, urged the board to withhold final approval until the full engineering, drainage, access and stormwater analyses are complete. He asked the city to require an independent stormwater and groundwater study, a no-net-increase runoff standard, written elevation and drainage guarantees, a stormwater performance bond or escrow, baseline well-condition surveys and enforceable long-term maintenance inspections funded by the developer.

City staff told the board that plan-commission findings and permit materials are available in petitioners’ packets and that the authority may seek executive session with legal counsel to answer outstanding legal questions. The board did not take a final vote on the appeals at the meeting; the chair said the authority will provide written determinations to petitioners and address appeals at the upcoming Board of Works meeting on the 18th.

What happens next: the Board of Works will consider the appeals and the authority said it will provide written determinations to petitioners after that meeting. Petitioners asked the city to publicly release any baseline testing and hydrogeological assessments if the project proceeds.