Please accept our sincere thanks to the many people who attended the recent Planning Board meeting where Databank presented their proposal to build this massive extension to double their existing data center right next to Lake Tappan reservoir.
Special thanks to Mayor Tom Gallagher who personally attended and read the Old Tappan Town Board Resolution opposing this project, Mayor Danielle DiPaola of Emerson, NJ State Senator Holly Schepisi , NJ Assemblyman John V. Azzariti and the many other people that continue to support our opposition! The room was overflowing with opposition!
We'd also like to thank many of the members of the Planning Board for their thoughtful questions and deep concern over this complex and -- we believe -- dangerous proposal.
Our supporters talked about the environmental impact to the wetlands, the huge energy consumption, concern over fire safety and proximity to a major reservoir providing fresh water to hundreds of thousands. Several of the Board members clearly agreed with these concerns and the Board will now retain a consulting firm to assist them in better understanding the potential environmental impacts. Databank asked for a "continuation" of their application which, for now, is on hold for further review.
We were pleased that many of the Board members continued to express their skepticism about the “massive size” of this expansion plan. To get “Phase 1” approved, Databank had agreed to “land bank” hundreds of parking spaces and there was a clear understanding that a Phase 2 could not be built. Databank knew -- and knows -- that these spaces were -- and are -- in the same area that they are once again proposing to build Phase 2. Earlier this year, the Board asked Databank to consider reducing the size of their building. Yet they returned with a plan that is basically a mirror image of what they initially proposed during the Phase 1 deliberations. The Planning Board Resolution then stated plainly: “The applicant must understand that with the proposed land banked parking spaces, Phase II as formerly illustrated, cannot be constructed.” In January, when they brought Phase 2 to the Planning Board, Databank’s attorney clearly said to the Board that they cannot build Phase 2 without (and to paraphrase loosely) reneging on this agreement. The applicant accepted this condition and now wants a “do-over!” Well, perhaps we should dismantle the first building and start from scratch?
Without land-banked parking the building could never be “repurposed”. Granting Databank’s request to reduce required parking by 90% would not only put in question the integrity of the Board's approval process but would be a grave planning mistake. Computer technology is changing rapidly. In ten years – a lifetime in tech – these data centers may be obsolete. What happens then? Does it become another Rockland Psychiatric Center, abandoned buildings, left overgrown for many years – with limited parking and loading -- unsuitable for other uses?
In December last year, the Rockland County Planning Board unanimously rejected this proposal, again citing concerns over grid strain, wetlands destruction, and the lack of adequate fire-safety infrastructure. I am asking this Board not to ignore Rockland’s denial.
And this second phase is even larger than the first -- and even closer -- proposed to be within 79 feet (not even 100 feet as required) to Lake Tappan’s watershed property.
This site now houses a 146,000-square-foot behemoth, as tall as an average 5-story building, consuming an estimated 20 megawatts of electricity, which may be enough to power 20,000 average homes. The second data center will be similar, although Databank's public testimony and marketing material seemed to have "evolved". (The application and file for this project is missing meaningful written documentation related to the energy consumption of the site or dealing with the ability of the grid to handle it.) At this hearing, Databank management commented that -- with another data center and substation -- they would max out their power usage on their campus to 60 megawatts. If that is true, some sources suggest that this is enough to power 60,000 average homes. Rockland County only has 110,000 homes in total!
There is a question as to whether O&R can even power the project and as mentioned, it has yet to show this Board anything about its impact on the grid. How this extraordinary increase in energy consumption will impact residents – in the town or in the region. During peak periods will Databank be asked to reduce electric consumption to avoid a brownout – like many of us here have been asked in the past? Or have they explained how local and regional rates will increase due to extensive power demand from these huge facilities.
The Datacenter Crisis Coalition includes residents from both sides of the state line. The reservoir doesn’t recognize municipal boundaries. Neither does smoke, contaminated runoff, or electrical blackouts. Our region deserves good planning, full transparency, and leadership that keeps its promises.
We call on Orangetown’s Planning Board to remind the Applicant that they had already agreed that Phase 2 could not be built as proposed! Databank is making significant commercial use of their property and has even received significant financial assistance through the Rockland IDA. If they still insist on moving ahead with their application for a Phase 2, this Board should insist on a full and comprehensive environmental assessment - as our attorney outlined in his letter to the Board. Given the significant environmental impact, we trust that the Orangetown Planning Board can come to no other conclusion than rejecting Databank's application.
Please Protect Lake Tappan, Orangeburg and the entire region.
