Public comment for a proposed data center in Martindale Brightwood has been pushed to Thursday, Feb. 12, after residents asked for the petition to be continued.
The hearing examiner for the Metropolitan Development Commission was set to hear the proposal at a public hearing Thursday, Jan. 15. More than 100 people attended the meeting, the majority in opposition to the data center.
But before the petition was heard, a Martindale Brightwood resident requested that the petition be heard at a later date.
Jacklyn McMillan Gunn, a member of the neighborhood group One Voice Martindale Brightwood, requested the delay, which is called a continuance. Gunn said the neighborhood wants to wait for more information and research as the City-County Council decides how they might regulate data centers.
Earlier this month, the City-County Council rejected a symbolic resolution that called on data center developers to refrain from using non-disclosure agreements when meeting with city leaders. At the Monday, Jan. 5, full council meeting, Councilor Vop Osili said he is working on a proposal about transparency and oversight of data centers in the city.
Gunn requested a two-month continuance, saying that would allow the council enough time to finish research and submit another data center resolution.
“Because the City-County Council is devoting some attention to this project, we feel we need to allow them to exercise that process and then give us their outcome so that we are making the correct decision based on additional information being provided,” Gunn said.
Cierra Johnson, the vice president of One Voice Martindale Brightwood, said the group still opposes the data center. She said the group is open to having more conversations with the developer and city officials.
“Currently, it looks like this will not do anything positive for our neighborhood,” Johnson said. “But we’re willing to hear people that can give us real, substantive answers.”
Los Angeles-based company Metrobloks wants to build a data center in Martindale Brightwood at the nearly 14-acre site of the former Sherman Drive-In. The property at 25th Street and Sherman Drive has sat vacant since the theater closed in the 1980s.
Many residents have been vocal about their opposition to the development, with many concerned about rising utility costs and environmental impact. A group of local clergy denounced the proposal one day before the MDC hearing.
Councilor Ron Gibson, who represents Martindale Brightwood, spoke against the continuance. Gibson had submitted a letter to the hearing examiner in favor of the data center and urged for the rezoning requests to be approved.
This is the second time the petition has been pushed back. The petition was originally set to be heard in December, but neighborhood leaders filed an automatic continuance with the city.
The petition will now be heard on Thursday, Feb. 12. If the hearing examiner approves the requests, the petition will move to the full Metropolitan Development Commission for a vote.
Mirror Indy local government reporter Peter Blanchard contributed to this article.
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Mirror Indy reporter Darian Benson covers east Indianapolis. Contact her at 317-397-7262 or darian.benson@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @HelloImDarian or on Bluesky @darianbenson.bsky.social.
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