Bessemer, ala. (WIAT) – The Bessemer municipal council is expected to review the plans on Tuesday for a massive data center which arouses a concern among the nearby residents who declared that the project could change their community forever.
The proposal, which appeared for the first time in January, rezébit approximately 700 acres of land off Rock Mountain Lake Road to make way for a large -scale data center. However, residents said they were left in darkness for months, frustrated by what they call a lack of transparency from city officials and developers.
“It will be an immense area that has developed 100 acres, 18 buildings the size of a Super Walmart, four and a half million square feet,” said Nelson Brooke of Black Warrior Riverkeeper. “It will use a ton of power, perhaps 1,200 megawatts, which represents half the capacity of our largest coal-in-law here in the Birmingham region.”
Residents who live near the proposed site, many of whom are in the county of Jefferson not formed in a company, said they felt excluded from the process. Several have expressed their frustration concerning the information according to which the city has signed a non-disclosure agreement with the developers, leaving some details available to the public.
“Why can’t they discuss it?” said Ronnie Buchanan, a long -standing resident of Jefferson County. “Who wants to sign something that I don’t even understand? You don’t know what it will be or that will manage it. It’s like inviting a foreigner in your home.”
For families like those of Buchanan, the lack of communication is more than a disadvantage. It’s personal.
“We don’t matter,” said Buchanan. “They said we are not part of the city, so we don’t matter. But we are counting.”
He added that he worries the development of the lifestyle that his family hoped to transmit for generations.
“We have bought a property in our community so that our children and grandchildren have had for generations for generations,” said Buchanan. “But who will want to live there with the lively lights and the generator on the move? No one will come back to that.”
CBS 42 contacted the city of Bessemer to confirm the non-disclosure agreement. The city clerk said that the city lawyer was planning to provide a declaration. CBS 42 did not receive a declaration from the city’s prosecutor at the time of publication.
The municipal council of Bessemer is expected to take action on the Rezoning proposal at its meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
