Residents urge pause on large data-center fill permit, cite groundwater, traffic and procedural flaws

Residents who live near a proposed large data-center development told the Hobart City Redevelopment Authority at a packed meeting that the city should pause final approvals until independent engineering and baseline environmental testing are complete.

Speakers at the appeals portion of the meeting said the fill/grading permit under review would enable mass grading across hundreds of acres before critical engineering details — including final site plans, stormwater controls and haul routes — are finalized. Barbara Telles, a petitioner, said the scale and proximity to homes make the project unusual and risky: "There is no place in The United States where there is a 725 acre data center across the street from residences," she said, and warned of harms to property values and residents’ health.

Elizabeth Scagliardi, owner of Excelsior Equestrian Center, told the board she is concerned about dewatering and impacts to the Deep River aquifer that supplies private wells. She asked the city to demand documentation showing how dewatering would be avoided and to require remedial measures if monitoring shows harm. "How are you not going to need to be dewatering the area?" she asked, urging engineering studies and baseline testing before land is moved.

Attorney-style and technical objections were also raised. Eric Morris and other appellants argued the Plan Commission’s findings — that post-fill drainage and traffic impacts would not be detrimental — rest on incomplete information because final grading, access points and traffic routing remain unresolved. Morris asked the city to require an independent stormwater and groundwater study, a no-net-increase runoff standard, written elevation and drainage guarantees, performance bonding or escrow to cover corrective grading and property damage, and baseline property and well-condition surveys with ongoing monitoring.

A separate commenter urged the city to follow its municipal code sections when authorizing fill permits, arguing the permit application lacks required elements such as a complete site plan, timing of operations, equipment lists, estimated vehicle trips and specified haul routes. The speaker recommended an independent hydrogeological assessment, transparent publication of baseline results, and applicant-funded long-term monitoring to protect private wells.

City staff told the board they would compile the written issues and provide petitioners with findings and that the body could use executive session to address legal questions before a final determination. The board voted to defer final determinations and to forward the compiled appeals to the Board of Works meeting on the 18th, at which members said they expect to make and release decisions to petitioners.

What was asked of the city: appellants asked for independent baseline groundwater testing (including nitrates and common agricultural/industrial contaminants), a hydrogeological assessment of dewatering effects, a no-net-increase stormwater standard, legally enforceable elevation/drainage guarantees, a stormwater performance bond or escrow, and baseline well/property surveys with monitoring funded by the applicant.

Next steps: The board will present the appeals and related questions to the Board of Works on the 18th; staff said written determinations will be provided to appellants after that meeting.

Quote highlights from the meeting: "We're not here to oppose responsible development," Eric Morris said, "we're asking that major land‑altering decisions be made carefully and based on a complete engineering record." Barbara Telles added, "This fill permit is just one step in the final building of the data center — 25 buildings is a lot."

Ending: The board did not take final action on the contested fill permit; it moved the appeals and related record to the Board of Works meeting on the 18th for a formal determination and wrote that petitioners will receive the city’s written findings following that meeting.