The St. Joseph County Council is set to vote Tuesday to ban more data centers. The ban seems to have the votes to pass but the council president is leaning against the idea.
The council already has approved the Amazon and Microsoft data centers but Republican council member Amy Drake has said some people worry that developers will try again to get land near New Carlisle rezoned for a data center, after the council denied them in December.
The ban is sponsored by Drake and Republicans Joe Thomas, Randy Figg and Andy Rutten. Democrat Jenn Shabazz has voiced her support along with three Democratic council candidates.
But Democratic Council President Bryan Tanner says he’s leaning toward voting no. Tanner says he realizes how unpopular data centers are right now but he fears banning a specific industry wouldn’t hold up in court.
“I do not want this to be another in a long laundry list of issues that lead to litigation and public opinion, as much as I appreciate and value that, still does not supersede our need to comply with Indiana code," Tanner says.
