St. Joseph County council candidate petitions for a temporary pause on hyperscale data center permits

St. Joseph County Council candidate Jan Cervelli has initiated a petition advocating for a temporary moratorium on hyperscale data center permits exceeding 5,000 square feet within the county. Cervelli presented her proposal Tuesday night, emphasizing the need for a pause to evaluate the existing and under-construction data center projects' environmental and economic impacts on the community. Her petition further calls for the establishment of a dedicated public utility commission. This commission would be tasked with conducting a thorough study on these impacts and subsequently publishing its findings for public review and consumption. Cervelli, who is challenging incumbent Dan Schaetzle for the District C council seat, has identified data center development as the primary issue in her campaign, stressing the importance of governmental policy for stronger protections against heavy industrial use by hyperscale data centers.