Proposed Indianapolis data center headed for heated public hearing

INDIANAPOLIS - The fate of Google's proposed billion-dollar data center on the southeast side of Indianapolis will be decided at a public hearing later this month.




The tech giant needs nearly 470 acres of farm land near I-74 and Post Road to be rezoned. The Metropolitan Development Commission voted to do just that last month, but the city-county council has to approve all zoning decisions.




At Monday's meeting, Councilor Michael-Paul Hart, who represents the area where the center would be built, called that zoning decision down for a public hearing.




"What was really good was seeing all those people out there, holding the signs, doing everything they need to do so that every councilor here can see how serious we are about that data center," Hart said.




That opposition is born out of the fears of what the data center could bring with it, including massive consumption of electricity and water.




"There aren't any pros," said Julie Goldsberry with Protect Franklin Township. "There's a bunch of cons."




Goldsberry and her fellow Franklin Township neighbors have been organizing for months to try and stop the development. They're pleased with the decision to move forward with a public hearing but feel they're not out of the woods yet.




"This is a win, Goldsberry said. "It's not the big win. There's shenanigans going on. We heard before we came in that Google was giving a slick packet to the councilors tonight, so they're doing stuff, but so are we."




That public hearing, scheduled for Sept. 22, will be an opportunity for members of the public to testify and for councilors to ask questions of both Google and Franklin Township residents.




Neighbors and Hart are urging people to show up to the hearing and warn that a data center could be coming to anyone's neighborhood.




"Think of an IKEA building in the middle of your neighborhood, and if you'd want that," Hart said. "Then you'd think this was a terrible idea."




An attorney representing Google left the meeting before FOX59/CBS4 had a chance to speak with him.





via: https://fox59.com/news/proposed-indianapolis-data-center-headed-for-heated-public-hearing/