A developer wants to turn a section of Bessemer timberland into a 4.5 million square foot data storage site. What will it be like to live nearby?Just ask Sharon Robbie.She and her husband bought a home on West Ridge Drive near Huntsville nearly twenty years ago.Back then, it bordered 300-plus acres of farmland.“Made us feel like we were in the country. He worked at Redstone,” Robbie said.Then, a few years ago, Huntsville sold the property.Now, Meta has a 3.5 million square foot data campus near Robbie's backyard.Last month, we introduced you to Marshall Killingsworth, who is worried about that proposed Bessemer data center project within a stone's throw of his house.“The biggest thing is what we realize is going to be the impact. It's a 24-7 noise pollution,” Killingsworth said.Tuesday, we talked to Janice Sanders, who had a similar complaint.“It's going to be a block, maybe two blocks away from my home, which we will be able to hear the humming of the generators,” Sanders said.>> FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube To see what kind of noise nuisance Sanders and Killingsworth face, we drove to Harold Greenleaf's neighborhood, which borders that massive Meta operation in Huntsville.“No, I don't think so,” Greenleaf said when asked if noise pollution was a problem.So, just how loud is a data storage campus? Standing less than 200 yards from one of the Meta buildings, a sound meter showed decibel readings between 35-50.That's the level of a quiet library to a light rain.“You can sleep out here on the porch and not even know they're there, if you wanted to,” Greenleaf said. While all of Greenleaf and Robbie’s neighbors agreed that noise was not a major problem, the massive storage centers did steal some of their community's natural charm.“Does that make you feel like you're out in the woods? It takes away a little bit of that,” Robbie said.In addition to the noise threat, residents near the Bessemer project site are also concerned about air and water pollution, along with possible health risks. Three Rock Mountain Lakes community residents have filed a lawsuit to stop the rezoning of 700-plus acres for the Bessemer project. A judge issued a preliminary injunction this week to delay a rezoning vote. That case is still pending.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. —
A developer wants to turn a section of Bessemer timberland into a 4.5 million square foot data storage site.
What will it be like to live nearby?
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Just ask Sharon Robbie.
'We will fight': Judge pauses rezoning for planned $14B Bessemer project
She and her husband bought a home on West Ridge Drive near Huntsville nearly twenty years ago.
Back then, it bordered 300-plus acres of farmland.
“Made us feel like we were in the country. He worked at Redstone,” Robbie said.
Then, a few years ago, Huntsville sold the property.
Now, Meta has a 3.5 million square foot data campus near Robbie's backyard.
Last month, we introduced you to Marshall Killingsworth, who is worried about that proposed Bessemer data center project within a stone's throw of his house.
“The biggest thing is what we realize is going to be the impact. It's a 24-7 noise pollution,” Killingsworth said.
Tuesday, we talked to Janice Sanders, who had a similar complaint.
“It's going to be a block, maybe two blocks away from my home, which we will be able to hear the humming of the generators,” Sanders said.
>> FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
To see what kind of noise nuisance Sanders and Killingsworth face, we drove to Harold Greenleaf's neighborhood, which borders that massive Meta operation in Huntsville.
“No, I don't think so,” Greenleaf said when asked if noise pollution was a problem.
So, just how loud is a data storage campus?
Standing less than 200 yards from one of the Meta buildings, a sound meter showed decibel readings between 35-50.
That's the level of a quiet library to a light rain.
“You can sleep out here on the porch and not even know they're there, if you wanted to,” Greenleaf said.
While all of Greenleaf and Robbie’s neighbors agreed that noise was not a major problem, the massive storage centers did steal some of their community's natural charm.
“Does that make you feel like you're out in the woods? It takes away a little bit of that,” Robbie said.
In addition to the noise threat, residents near the Bessemer project site are also concerned about air and water pollution, along with possible health risks.
Three Rock Mountain Lakes community residents have filed a lawsuit to stop the rezoning of 700-plus acres for the Bessemer project.
A judge issued a preliminary injunction this week to delay a rezoning vote.
That case is still pending.
