In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission gave an unfavorable recommendation to another data center proposal near New Carlisle. It next goes to the county council for a final vote.
At a three-hour meeting, 34 people spoke against a developer’s request to rezone about 1,000 acres of prime farmland along Chicago Trail from agricultural to industrial, to build a data center. Only one resident and the county’s economic development director Bill Schalliol spoke for the project.
The New York city-based developer’s Indianapolis attorney, Brandon Dickinson, tried to distinguish between this project and the one Amazon is building to the south. He said this would be only 14 data shell buildings instead of Amazon’s 30, and they would be less visible because they would be placed more on the site’s interior.
But opponents said rather than how it looks, they fear more impacts on roads, water and sewer, and electric demand. Like the area plan staff, they noted the project would conflict with comprehensive plans recently adopted by the county and town of New Carlisle that call for keeping the site agricultural.
Some of the people speaking against it became emotional, like Kim Burnett of New Carlisle.
”This development threatens to fundamentally alter the character of our town and impose long-term consequences that outweigh any short-term economic growth,” Burnett said. "New Carlisle is proud of our agricultural heritage and small-town charm. Rezoning farmland for industrial use undermines the very identity that makes our town special. Once we allow this shift, it sets precedent for further development that could transform New Carlisle into just another tech corridor disconnected from its roots."
