The Morgan County Planning Commission voted Monday to recommend a zoning change for 390 acres of farmland in Monrovia for a controversial proposed data center.
Despite intense opposition at the meeting — and last week at a public hearing — the commission vote was 7-1. The rezoning petition now goes to the county commissioners, who meet at 6:30 p.m. February 18.
The developer and end user are unknown to the public because of a non-disclosure agreement. There are other unanswered questions, including expected noise levels, what will happen to the local watershed, and how it will affect local property taxes and home values.
“We are more than willing to work with the county and the developer to better understand this project, its benefits and, unfortunately, any costs it might have for our community, but we just plain need more information and more time to process,” said Monrovia Town Council President Tammy Everett.
Read more: Monrovia community speaks out against proposed data center
Commission member Dustin Frye emphasized that the commission’s role in the process is to consider the best possible use of the land for the county.
“Ultimately, this Commission's role has nothing to do with the finances, just best use with the (Unified Development Ordinance) and (comprehensive) plan,” he said. “And this is one step of many that's going to be overlapped as this process goes through, where more information will be revealed.”
Frye added that the development is just the beginning.
“Data centers are coming, whether we like it or not,” he said. “The state of Indiana is on a list of top five states ready for this type of infrastructure.”
