BIG BEAVER, Pa. — People who live in Big Beaver Borough and surrounding communities hope a meeting on Tuesday night will answer questions about the data center a company said it plans to build at the site of the former Pitt Race.
“Truthfully, I don’t think they’re going to answer much,” said Paula Cook of Big Beaver.
Neighbors have several questions.
“How they’re gonna mitigate risk. How they’re gonna benefit the community,” Amanda Popik said. “It doesn’t seem that they’re really offering any benefit to the community.”
Neighbors are worried about noise and what impacts the data center will have on water and the environment.
They want to hear how Switch, the company that purchased the Pitt Race land for $50 million, would handle those concerns and lessen those risks. Many want council to block this development.
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“It’s going to be impossible to really prove the harm down the road that has occurred and who’s responsible for it since they didn’t do their due diligence in the beginning to write an ordinance that would protect the community,” Popik said.
People are also concerned about the borough’s amended ordinance to allow data centers.
“How could it be that an ordinance was put into place weeks before the track’s announce of sale in September into October?” questioned Daniel Dennehy-Rodriguez.
Dennehy-Rodriguez runs the Three Rivers Motorsport Preservation Society. He told Channel 11 there have been discussions at council meetings about benefits the borough could see. But, borough council told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek Tuesday afternoon it had not received any plans regarding this site’s development from Switch and what it could bring to the community.
“There’s, there’s a lot of trepidation both from the motorsport community locally as well as the actual community of Big Beaver Borough, those 2,000 residents, as to how that information could be known, but then no plan is in place?” Dennehy-Rodriguez said.
A statement from Big Beaver Borough sent to Channel 11 in May said:
“The Borough has been advised by Switch of its intention to develop a data center campus on the former Pitt Race property at 201 Penndale Road. At this time no formal applications for such a development have been submitted to the Borough for review by Borough Council. Switch and the Borough have had an administrative meeting to discuss Switch’s intention to develop the property and to discuss the Borough’s required review process under the Borough’s Ordinances. The next step in the review process is the submission of a formal application. This will start the Borough’s standard review process which will involve an internal review by the Borough’s Zoning Officer and Engineer followed by a public meeting before the Borough’s Planning Committee and then a public meeting before Borough Council to determine the application’s compliance with all Borough Ordinances. If an application is received, we will post the date of the initial review at the Planning Committee meeting on the Borough’s Facebook and Website page.”
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