Residents urge city to require independent groundwater and stormwater studies before large-scale fill for proposed data center

Dozens of residents urged the Hobart City Redevelopment Authority to delay final approval of mass grading and fill activities tied to a proposed data-center complex, saying the city lacks a complete engineering record and baseline environmental data to protect nearby wells, farms and homes.

Barbara Telles, the first appellant to speak, said the current fill permit is only "one step in the final building" of what she described as a multi-building data center and warned construction would bring heavy truck traffic and could depress property values for nearby homeowners. "This fill permit is just one step in the final building of the data center… that's a lot," Telles said, urging caution given the scale of the project.

Eric Morris, representing local property owners, told the board the permit authorizes mass grading across approximately 605 acres while key items — final access points, grading and stormwater plans, traffic routes and equipment schedules — remained unresolved. "At this stage, there is no reliable engineering basis to conclude that the drainage patterns will not change or that adjacent property owners will not be affected," Morris said, urging independent stormwater and groundwater studies and a requirement for no-net-increase in runoff.

Elizabeth Scagliardi, owner of Excelsior Equestrian Center, testified that her horse-boarding business — located about 1.5 miles from the proposed development — relies on local wells and could not feasibly convert to city water for daily operations. She said publicly available permit documents did not include final site plans or adequate erosion-control and dewatering details. "How are you not going to need to be dewatering the area?" Scagliardi asked, describing concerns about sediment, wetland impacts and the proximity of building pads to an oil pipeline.

Another commenter cited public-health concerns, including the risk of groundwater contamination and potential impacts on residents with autoimmune diseases; that speaker urged the city to require independent baseline testing for nitrates and other agricultural and industrial contaminants and to publicly release results.

Several speakers and a submitted letter pointed to procedural inconsistencies in the public notices and municipal-code citations (documents referencing chapter 154 in one notice and chapter 150 in another) and argued the fill permit process risked "piecemeal approval" because final site plans and SWPP (stormwater pollution prevention) details were not available at the time of the fill permit approval.

Residents asked the authority to adopt a set of specific protections before large-scale grading proceeds, including: independent stormwater and groundwater studies not hired by the developer; a no-net-increase runoff standard; written elevation and drainage guarantees; a stormwater performance bond or escrow to cover corrective grading and property damage; baseline well-condition surveys with monitoring; and enforceable, long-term maintenance and inspection requirements.

The board did not issue a final determination at the meeting. Staff and the chair said the appeals will be consolidated for the Board of Works, which is scheduled to take the matter up on the 18th; petitioners will receive the written determinations after that meeting.