The Town of Monrovia will look at annexing the multi-hundred-acre site of a future Google data center.
The town council voted 3-2 last week to begin exploring incorporation of Morgan County land east of town, including the Keller Hill Heights neighborhood and Berling Estates.
Despite the data center project easily gaining approval from the county planning commission and board of commissioners, many Monrovia and Morgan County residents have protested and spoken against it during meetings. Critics worry about data centers’ considerable energy and water use, noise pollution and effect on property values.
Some have even filed suit against the county.
Read more: After months of mystery, Google confirmed as data center developer in Morgan County
Morgan County government stands to benefit from property taxes paid by Google, but if annexation is successful Monrovia could also reap the rewards.
Still, councilmember Philip Fowler worried push back from Google could overpower local government.
“I think we might want to wait a little bit on this just to see what kind of response we get,” he said. “I mean, if they want to throw money at stopping this kind of thing, then we’re spinning our wheels.”
Fowler and councilmember Ryan Marsh voted against the proposal.
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It’s not just Google’s approval that matters. Under Indiana law, governments pursuing annexation must inform people in annexation areas. Affected residents opposed to the move then have time to obtain signatures to block incorporation.
