Hyperscale Data Center

Democratic St. Joseph County Council President Bryan Tanner worries a data center ban could trigger lawsuits from developers that will increase the county's legal costs. But Republican Council Member Amy Drake says he's being too cautious on the issue.

Democratic St. Joseph County Council President Bryan Tanner says he sees how unpopular data centers are with his constituents but he says council members' first priority should be to follow Indiana laws.

Elkhart Common Council President Arvis Dawson says he isn't worried that a data center moratorium will cause the city to lose out on economic development, since the city has things that data center developers want.

While the Amazon and Microsoft data centers are coming, the St. Joseph County Council now seems to have majority support for a ban on new hyperscale data centers.

Republicans on the St. Joseph County Council are calling for a two-year data center moratorium, while Democrats and the business community say that would jeopardize local control on major land use projects and close the door to future economic growth.

Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson says the city should pause all new data center applications until city staff can adopt standards.

Elkhart Common Council Member Aaron Mishler says that without standards, tech firms can build data centers however they please on industrially zoned land.

While many people worry about a range of issues caused by data centers, this class action lawsuit filed by Detroit-based Liddle Sheets PC focuses on noise complaints from people living near the data center.