Council gives sponsors more time to refine data center legislation
FORT WAYNE — The Fort Wayne City Council on July 7 voted 7-0 to continue holding an ordinance that would establish a city data center and a community quality-of-life task force until Sept. 8. Council members said the delay will allow sponsors to draft language intended to address concerns from residents, the administration and other stakeholders.
The ordinance, initially introduced by Councilman Russ Jehl, R-2nd, would create a task force charged with advising the mayor, City Council and city departments on the quality-of-life and environmental effects tied to local data center development. Jehl presented the measure several weeks ago as a way to produce recommendations related to those impacts.
"We’ve had some really productive conversations, and I think that this will give us time to really develop additional legislation around data centers and work through what this community group will actually look like, what its role will be, and how it can be most effective,"
The comment came from Councilmember Rohli Booker, D-6th, who together with Geoff Paddock, D-5th, is working on revised language they say is meant to meet expectations across city government and the public.
Local context: a massive facility and rising questions
Google opened a $2 billion data center in Fort Wayne in 2024 on roughly 700 acres near East Tillman and Adams Center roads. The company reported the facility generated $1 million in new tax revenue in 2025. Despite reassurances from utilities, including Indiana Michigan Power, that large energy users will not shift costs to residential or other commercial customers, many residents remain skeptical and cite environmental concerns.
Those worries are reflected in broader legislative activity elsewhere: lawmakers in at least 11 states introduced measures last session to temporarily ban data centers, according to reporting by the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Locally, the proposed Fort Wayne task force is aimed at producing recommendations specific to the city’s needs.
What the delay means for the city
- More time for sponsors to craft language that balances economic development with community protections
- Opportunity for public input and coordination with city departments and utilities
- Potentially pushes any formal recommendations and rules past the summer construction and planning season
The council’s continuance buys organizers roughly two months to gather input and produce detailed policy language. That window may matter for how the city manages future siting, permitting and oversight of energy-intensive facilities.
Other council action: trail bridge engineering agreement
Council members also advanced work on a separate infrastructure project. They voted 7-0 to approve a professional services agreement with Engineering Resources Inc. (ERI) to move forward on the long-planned Pufferbelly Pedestrian Trail Bridge. City Greenways manager Dawn Ritchie told council the bridge will provide a major connection across the trail network.
| Item | Key date or figure |
|---|---|
| Google data center opening | 2024 |
| Reported new tax revenue | $1 million (2025) |
| Council continued ordinance vote until | Sept. 8, 2026 |
For Fort Wayne, the council’s decision underscores the tension between attracting large-scale investment and addressing community-level impacts. How the task force is structured and what recommendations it produces could influence county permitting practices, utility planning and the city’s environmental footprint — issues that resonate across northeast Indiana.
