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About 30 people stood in front of the City-County Building on Monday evening chanting, “Go away, Google.” Men, women and children held signs denouncing the tech company’s plans to build a massive data center on Indianapolis’ south side.
The same crowd cheered and whooped later, when the 25-member City-County Council voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on the rezoning of 467 acres for Google’s project. A bipartisan coalition of 17 councilors have released public statements stating their opposition to the project. Just 15 council votes are needed to override the rezoning, which was authorized Aug. 20 by the Metropolitan Development Commission.
If councilors opt to vote against the rezoning on Sept. 22, Google’s $1 billion-plus plan for the development would be halted for the near future.
The vote, initiated by Republican Councilor Michael-Paul Hart, sets a Sept. 22 public hearing before the full council. During the planned hearing, both the petitioners and opposition are expected to have the opportunity to speak. Councilors would vote on the rezoning after that testimony.
Neighbors concerned about the development’s potential environmental impact and utility use formed a group called “Protect Franklin Township.” That group has a petition opposed to the project that has netted more than 7,000 signatures and recently invested in digital billboard ads across Marion County.
Andrew Filler, an organizer and engineer who held a megaphone at the rally, lives across the street from the planned development site. He said the work he’s done to oppose the project over the last six months has been like a second full-time job.
“These are really bad for the community,” Filler said about data centers. “Cities and townships everywhere just seem to suffer when they get put in.”
Google’s site, currently urban farmland, is generally bounded by South Post Road to the west, Davis Road to the east, Troy Avenue to the north and Interstate 74 and Vandergriff Road to the south. Construction could start by the end of this year.
Anne Van Arsdel lives less than two miles away from the site. She said she noticed signs in her neighbor’s yards about two weeks ago and became concerned.
“Are you kidding me?” she said, talking about Google’s proposition, “Thirty to 50 jobs. You’re going to take the last area where our community can grow. You’re not going to provide jobs, you’re not going to provide revenue and taxes. You’re going to increase my [electricity] rates, and you’re probably going to make my house unlivable by stealing all my water.”
According to plans, the site would be able to accommodate up to four buildings, with the first expected to be completed by late 2030. It will employ up to 50 people. Initial plans for the project indicate the facility could employ up to 400 once the campus is fully developed.
Filler, who held a megaphone at the rally, noted that the final vote is still two weeks away. He said the group intended to hold those who have committed to voting against the project to their word.
The most recent councilor to announce opposition to the data center is east-side Democrat Keith Graves. He posted a statement to social media earlier Monday that alluded to environmental concerns and an interest in greater job creation.
“Our city deserves development that strengthens neighborhoods, protects our environment, and creates real, lasting opportunities for residents,” Graves’ statement said.
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One of the very rare instances wherein there is NIMBYism that I can get behind.
There is plenty of land in Indiana where you can locate data centers. That said, no one has been able to explain how locating data centers in Indiana will lead to us being more economically competitive in the future. Indiana won’t land more high tech jobs or companies because they can be located closer to the data centers. That isn’t how “the cloud” works.
We will land those jobs if we have the highly educated workforce that comes up with great ideas.
IMO we should be investing our money in developing the next generations of programmers and technical individuals, not giving data centers giant property tax abatement.
Rare occasion when Joe and I find harmony.
Could someone please explain why these data centers always need to be on farmland? Why not place them on abandoned sites as the old Ford plant near Shadeland Ave? Or knock over the Washington Square Mall and place a data center there? These sites would be greatly improve visually and the utilities such as electricity and water are already in place.
+ 1. We should be preserving productive ag land and redeveloping abandoned brown field sites to get them back into the property tax base .
In our rush to land them for reasons that remain unclear to me, we have largely exempted data centers from paying any number of taxes. In addition to the property tax and IEDC tax credits, we’ve also exempted them from many sales taxes.
I don’t see how data centers are good for anyone but local utility companies.
They build data centers where land is cheaper and the cost of construction is lower. Farm fields fit the description.
Jaron is right – the data centers locate at the cheapest location. This is where the IEDC and locals need to get involved – to find the location that is best for the community not just the development even if it requires dedicating some tax dollars, such as TIF.
Insufficient electrical capacity as required by these places that consume GIGANTIC amounts = higher rates for homeowners. And lucky us – Indiana has throttled back green energy projects so we will have to burn more coal, oil, and natural gas to produce it. To say nothing of the enormous amounts of water needed.