As developers make their case, Decatur Township residents still stand opposed to data center

Pat Andrews has spent three decades working with the Decatur Township Civic Council.

Now the chair of its committee on land use, Andrews says she has “never, ever seen” anything like what’s unfolding now in the southwest Marion County community.

Decatur Township has become the latest flashpoint in Indiana’s growing wave of data center battles — this time pitting residents against Sabey Data Centers, a Seattle-based developer.

Looking to distance itself from higher-profile companies like Google and Meta, which have secured massive data center developments in Indiana, Sabey representatives have positioned themselves as a smaller, family-run alternative. But residents say the company is using a procedural workaround to push the project forward with less public oversight.

Instead of seeking a full rezoning of the roughly 130-acre site — land located near residential neighborhoods — Sabey filed for a variance of use. That approach bypasses the formal rezoning process, which would allow the Indianapolis City-County Council to “call down” the proposal and vote on it, regardless of what the Metropolitan Development Commission decides.

That council oversight is what ultimately derailed Google’s proposed data center in Franklin Township in September.

Now, as Decatur Township residents organize opposition through yard signs, public meetings and independent research, many say they’re frustrated they don’t have the same pathway to block the project.

“I use the word troubling, but there are stronger words for that,” Andrews told WFYI after a meeting about the project at Decatur Central High School.

“I believe in a vigorous public process,” she said. “And if they can’t stand up to the biggest, most vigorous public process — maybe they need to rethink it.”

As developers made their pitch at the meeting, residents — many holding signs opposing the project — shouted questions from the audience, including, “What about our water?” and “What about transparency?”

Data centers are buildings that store and process vast amounts of digital information. Companies are building more with the rise of artificial intelligence and demand for more data storage.

They have dominated development conversations across Indiana this year. Data Center Map, an online business tracking the developments, estimates that there are more than 70 data centers statewide. Indiana is attractive to tech companies for its large swaths of available land and generous tax abatements.

Republican City-County Councilor Josh Bain, who represents the Decatur Township area, said in a social media post in November that he wants to make sure “our community’s voice is heard before any decisions are made.”

The petition will be heard by the Metropolitan Development Commission’s Hearing Examiner on January 29, according to the civic council. 

Farrah Anderson is an investigative health reporter with WFYI and Side Effects Public Media. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org.