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Residents press Hobart council for protections as data center proposal advances
Summary
Residents at the March 18 Hobart meeting urged the council to protect Ross Township from a proposed data center, citing noise, traffic, groundwater and ambulance‑response concerns and asking for baseline testing, stricter ordinances and more public engagement before annexation proceeds.
A wave of public comment at Hobart’s March 18 meeting focused on a proposed data center and related annexation in Ross Township, where residents said heavy industrial development would harm quality of life and public safety.
Patricia Corey, who gave her address to the council, urged officials to reject the planned location and demanded promises about wells and services. "I say absolutely no data center at 61st And 69th Avenue," she said, framing the wider comments that followed. Other residents raised complaints about ambulance response times and asked the city to pull call records for specific dates cited at the meeting.
Speakers repeatedly asked the council to require baseline groundwater and soil testing before any dewatering or construction work begins. One commenter said a large machine had been observed near the site and asked whether that signaled preliminary dewatering. Staff and council responded that construction permits include stormwater and erosion controls and that technical review and permit records exist; council members also committed to follow up with public safety departments and to look into groundwater baseline testing requests.
Noise and lighting were frequent concerns. Commenters described worries about diesel generator testing and long‑term noise impacts and urged the council to consider lowering the city’s noise ordinance and to craft a data‑center‑specific ordinance with mitigation measures such as downward‑facing lighting, buffer zones and testing requirements. Council members said the city is reviewing traffic‑management plans, off‑site parking and busing strategies and that traffic studies are being completed.
Speakers also raised land‑use values, pointing to the area’s productive farmland and saying rezoning for heavy industrial use represents a loss of agricultural value and a perceived sacrifice of Ross Township residents. Council members and staff countered that zoning changes and development decisions are driven by long‑term fiscal needs and that development can help fund police, fire and other services.
The council did not take any final land‑use action at the meeting beyond scheduling procedural steps (the annexation was introduced and set for a public hearing). Several residents asked the council to add technical conditions and testing requirements before any permits that involve dewatering or major excavation proceed. Council staff said they would gather call records for the ambulance incidents raised, continue dialogue on traffic mitigation, and consider the request for formal baseline groundwater testing and other technical protections prior to future approvals.
The council left the public‑comment period open to additional follow‑up and indicated some issues could return in later hearings or staff reports.
