The Burns Harbor Plan Commission is set to vote next month on a rezone for a controversial data center proposal after the the item was postponed during its meeting on Monday.
The commission moved its meeting to a larger room to accommodate a standing-room only crowd, some of whom arrived bearing signs reading "no data center." The atmosphere was tense, and exchanges between town officials and members of the public sometimes became heated.
Data centers, which house computers and other hardware for the storage and processing of large amounts of data, have proliferated across Northwest Indiana in recent years, and now can be found in Hammond, Portage and Valparaiso. In June, Microsoft announced it would spend $1 billion on a new facility in LaPorte County, creating up to 200 new jobs by the end of 2032.
Data centers can mean lucrative employment for skilled workers and major tax windfalls for municipalities, but plans for new facilities have sometimes proven contentious.
Dallas-based Provident Realty Advisors, Inc. previously sought to build a $1.3 billion data center in Chesterton. That plan fell apart in June in the face of widespread opposition from many town residents, who cited concerns over noise, property values and environmental impacts.
On July 26, roughly six weeks after Provident withdrew its Chesterton proposal, neighboring Burns Harbor announced it had been approached by the company with a new plan. The company wants to build a data center on a roughly 100-acre parcel near the site of Worthington Steel. Provident is seeking to rezone the land, currently designated for residential use, to a new data center classification.
Two public hearings on Monday before the Burns Harbor Plan Commission, which reviews developer proposals and provides recommendations to the Town Council, were the first step towards getting the plan off the ground. The first hearing concerned creating a new zoning classification that would permit data centers, and the second concerned rezoning the center's prospective site.
Approving the former item would be a prerequisite for building any data center, since none of Burns Harbor's current classifications permit them.
During roughly 90 minutes of testimony during Monday's meeting, speakers were overwhelmingly opposed to the project. Burns Harbor residents voiced similar concerns to their counterparts in Chesterton, and questioned whether the facility's significant water and power usage could negatively impact the surrounding community.
Annette Hansen serves as the executive director of the Porter County chapter of the Izaak Walton League, a national environmental conservation group. She raised concerns over how Provident's planned facility might impact local migratory birds, urging the commissioners to take their welfare into account.
Joe Miller, who lives on Castle Street, said he was worried about the impact the data center could have on the value of his property and those of his neighbors.
"Like many people in this room, it's my biggest investment and my savings," he told the commission. "It just it makes no sense and I hope the Planning Commission takes that into account."
In an Aug. 2 email to town officials that was shared with The Times, Burns Harbor resident Ed Orlando warned that the town was "skipping many steps" in the process and counseled caution.
"The town needs more time and many more answers before any rezoning is even considered," he wrote. "How can we consider creating a new definition of rezoning when we have no idea of the size, scope, or scale of such usage?"
The Burns Harbor Town Council had planned to consider the Plan Commission's recommendation during its Aug. 14 meeting, but Monday's commission meeting concluded without a vote. The Plan Commission will consider the matter again on Sept. 9.
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