INDIANAPOLIS — Commissioners passed a proposal to rezone 468 acres for a Google Data Center in Franklin Township on Wednesday. With the eight-to-one vote, the proposal moves to full council.
Emotions were high after the second hearing passage.
Bruce Cullingford, a Franklin Township resident, sat in the second row. His home on Troy Avenue sits directly across from part of the proposed Google data site. He hoped the plan would be denied.
WRTV caught up with Cullingford before the meeting.
"The people downtown need to think about the people in the Township and the surrounding areas. This is just not the place for a data center," he said.
"We thought this would be our forever home, but it's if this passes, that may not be," Cullingford added.
Major concerns among residents include tall buildings, water and electricity usage, pollution, noise and lack of permanent jobs.
Joe Calderon, an attorney representing Google, said the company is making 35 commitments to accommodate the neighborhood.
”The developer will be responsible for 100% of the cost for new construction of upgrades to the existing infrastructure, the electrical grid, sanitary, municipal water directly attributable to the proposed data center,” said Calderon.
Those at the meeting were shown renderings of the proposed data centers that Google said it is looking to mimic. The plan includes a buffer, building height requirements and no building zones.
Some residents, including Cindy Mowery, don't mind seeing the farmland turning into a data center.
"I do not think a Google data center will be as intrusive as other homes would be," Mowery said.
Supporters of the project and those who oppose it both agree there are a lot of unknowns.
The project was originally concealed behind an LLC and labeled "Project Flo." The attorney representing Google said it's still working on water and electricity usage plans.
Residents are concerned about what the data center will bring to the area.
"This community deserves to keep their homes here and intact without worrying about our water of the light pollution, the traffic, construction, 10 years of what will be hell," said Pat, a nearby resident.
City-County Councilor Michael Hart represents Franklin Township. He signed a Nondisclosure agreement to learn about the project.
He is against the project and says the land could be developed to better suit schools and the neighborhood. He also points out the lack of full-time jobs and the lack of paid taxes the center would potentially bring to the area.
"There's a handful of variances that they get 50 years on sales tax for the equipment that's going in there, 50 years on the energy that's used, 40 years on the real property, which is the equipment inside, and then 10 years on the land and the building," said Hart.
Hart shares what to expect moving forward.
"What's next is at our next full council meeting in early September, I will be making the motion to call down this development," said Hart. "The same energy that was in this room here is the same energy that needs to be in the room there. The same hearing will happen again with the petitioner and the remonstrator, and then there's another vote from the council, but that will take two more meetings."