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Residents urge Hobart leaders to block proposed data center as council advances annexation
Summary
At the March 18 Hobart City Redevelopment Authority meeting, residents pressed the council over a proposed data center sited near 61st and 69th Avenue while the council advanced an annexation petition and set related hearings; speakers raised noise, groundwater, traffic and emergency-response concerns.
Residents urged Hobart leaders on March 18 to reconsider permitting a planned data center in the I‑65/37th Avenue corridor as the council advanced a voluntary annexation petition for roughly 6.66 acres.
Richard Anderson, speaking during the meeting’s agenda items, introduced a petition to annex the parcel into the city so it would come in as M‑1 zoning for the CATCO project and said the petition was being set up for a public hearing (Richard Anderson). "This is 6.66 acres ... tonight is only an introduction of the ordinance," Anderson said, noting the owners plan outside storage and an industrial expansion and that a public hearing would be set for April.
During the public-comment period, Patricia Corey (7203 Colorado Street) voiced strong opposition to a data center at "61st and 69th Avenue," calling the site a "dumping zone" and urging the city to place the facility downtown instead. "I say absolutely no data center at 61st And 69th Avenue," Corey said, and pressed the council for written assurances — including a promise to replace private wells should construction or operations affect groundwater.
Jennifer McQuaid of Grand Boulevard told the council residents in Ross Township feel like "a sacrifice zone" after forced annexation and described concerns about diesel generators, noise and air pollution from a large data‑center campus. McQuaid cited estimates of many on‑site backup generators and said cumulative testing and baseline monitoring of groundwater and soil were needed before major earthwork.
Council members and staff repeatedly told speakers the project team has conducted site studies and that the city has required stormwater and erosion-control plans for earthmoving, while promising to make technical reports available. Staff also emphasized planned traffic mitigations at check‑in points and off‑site parking to reduce road backups during construction and operations.
Speakers pressed the council on specific safeguards. Several residents asked the city to lower the municipal noise standard to 55 decibels for new construction and to require baseline groundwater and soil sampling before any dewatering or other work that could alter groundwater concentration. Council members said those are complex policy changes requiring additional study and legal review but invited follow‑up meetings with staff and developers.
The council accepted the annexation petition for further processing and set a public hearing; it also adopted related development and compliance items elsewhere on the agenda. The annexation and the community’s environmental and public‑safety questions are scheduled for further public hearings in April.
