Michigan City residents continued to voice their concerns about data centers as the city council mulled a resolution looking at a moratorium on the hyperscale facilities.
The ordinance, if passed, would put a moratorium on any new data center developments in Michigan City. Google’s data center — which is under construction on Royal Road — would be exempt from the moratorium, if it’s passed by the Michigan City Common Council.
The ordinance was on first reading Tuesday night, and the council will vote on it once it’s on third reading.
In September, the Michigan City council indefinitely tabled a separate ordinance looking at a moratorium. Council members could not agree on the length of the initial moratorium, and it was indefinite and temporary. The original ordinance also asked for environmental protections, including for generators, fuel storage and noise pollution, and requested the plan commission update city codes for data centers.
The new ordinance would place a temporary moratorium on data center development and create a section for the hyperscale developments in the Michigan City municipal code. If passed, the moratorium will be in place until July 31, 2028.
Council members said they heard residents’ concerns about the Google data center’s exemption, but they worried there would be legal restrictions on if the development could be included.
Councilman Vidya Kora, D-at large, said the Google data center is already about halfway done with work in the first phase of the project, and permits have been issued for phase two.
“The foundation has been laid,” Kora said. “I think it’s important that there should be clarity, and there should be transparency about the fact that these two phases have moved forward, and if we enact this moratorium, it does not affect those two phases. … It would result in a huge liability for the city.”
Jewell Harris, the council’s attorney, said Tuesday that if a project is fully permitted and under construction, the moratorium can’t be retroactive and apply to the Google data center.
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“Any action by the council to interfere with the lawful use of property, including the lawful operation of a business, would expose the city to significant liability,” Harris said.
If Google expands beyond its phases and geographic limits, they’d need to come to the city for zoning changes, Kora said.
“I can speak for myself, I will oppose it,” he added. “And I suspect most of the council members would oppose it, too.”
Councilwoman Nancy Moldenhauer, D-6th, told council members that at their next meeting, she’ll bring the first moratorium ordinance to the table. She said they plan to make changes that would allow the city council planning and zoning committee to hold two public workshops for residents to give their input on what should be included in the zoning regulations.
“We, the original sponsors … are committed to coming up with a definite timeline based on all the above considerations in the new data center moratorium,” Moldenhauer said. “What I’m committed to presenting, hopefully, is the final cooperative version of the temporary data center development (moratorium) ordinances at the next city council meeting for consideration and votes.”
Michigan City resident Savannah Lyle said during public comment Tuesday night said she was ready to thank the council for the moratorium until she read both the original and new one.
In the first ordinance, it said the city would not grant a tax abatement for a data center, but it was taken out of the second proposed moratorium.
“In my opinion, the money is exactly where Project Maize went wrong,” Lyle said. “We gave that project a 50% abatement on the building for 10 years and a full exemption on its equipment for 40 years.”
Lyle said she worries about how the Google data center will impact Michigan City for generations.
“My kids will be raising kids of their own before that (abatement) runs out,” she said.
Resident Eileen Mark also expressed her concerns with the new proposed moratorium at Tuesday’s meeting. She told the council that constituents deserve to have a voice in the process.
“We were blindsided by this project due to the fact that adequate notice was not given to the community when this was announced,” Mark said. “… The moratorium must include language that no further expansion of Google’s data center will ever be allowed in Michigan City.”
Michigan City resident and Executive Director of Just Transition Northwest Indiana Ashley Williams told the council she wants to see a stronger data center moratorium. She told council members they chose the side of a billion dollar corporation over their constituents.
Williams also said she questions the proposed moratorium’s intentions, saying it gives Google a protected status.
“Is another data center circling the nest now that the city has painted a walking target on our community’s backs?” Williams asked. “Rather than righting your wrongs, you keep prioritizing Google over your constituents.”
The council is expected to take action on a data center moratorium at a later date.