INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — As DC Blox eyes the east side for a $2 billion data center, an Indianapolis City-County councilor wants a firsthand look at what could be coming to the Circle City.
Councilman Michael-Paul Hart, a Republican, is scheduled to tour a DC Blox development in Atlanta on Wednesday. "I’m wanting to get a better view of this in person to try and bring back insights to people."
DC Blox is seeking approval to build a data center on South Kitley Avenue, right along the Pennsy Trail. On the trail side, the property neighbors a handful of homes and Irvington Elementary School. Opposite, several industrial facilities already operate.
The Metropolitan Development Commission's hearing examiner will have a June 11 meeting at the City-County Building on the DC Blox data center.
Hart plans to tour the Atlanta site for a couple of hours, talk to locals about living and working next door, and try to learn about some of the biggest concerns from constituents, like noise.
“I want to go out there with a decibel meter and actually stand out there and show people what I'm seeing, and be able to articulate that,” Hart said.
The proposed data center is the latest to face public opposition.
When Google aimed to build a data center in Franklin Township, Hart was the councilmember who called down the vote, which ultimately led to Google withdrawing the proposal. But Hart believes these developments should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
"I was adamantly opposed to (the Google data center) because it was a bad fit for many reasons. We still have a lot to uncover with this current one to determine is it good or is it bad."
A council spokesperson said Hart and Andy Nielsen, a Democrat, were the only two council members invited by DC Blox to tour a data center. The spokesperson said Neilsen has not accepted the invite.
Ben Inskeep is program director at Citizens Action Coalition, which touts itself as Indiana's oldest and largest nonprofit grassroots consumer and environmental advocacy organization. Inskeep said, "I would encourage our elected officials to be very skeptical of the information they're getting from the companies trying to woo them."
Citizens Action Coalition has joined 27 public-interest organizations calling for local governments across Indiana to institute a data center moratorium until adequate policies and regulations to protect communities can be put in place. Inskeep said, "We really want to see much stronger protections for residents here in Indianapolis."
Hart said his trip will begin early Wednesday morning, and he expects to leave Atlanta that afternoon. He assures he isn’t being wined and dined. "I want to be able to compare and contrast things that I’ve seen in the past. To know, if this is coming to my district, and to my community, that this is either a good fit or a bad fit."
