Google Data Center — Franklin Township, Indianapolis
Franklin Township, Marion County, Indiana
CRITICAL RISK
Trajectory: Five Indiana counties enacted data center moratoriums since 2025. Citizens Action Coalition called for statewide moratorium. HB 1333 (allowing DCs on agricultural land) died in committee.
Last updated 2026-03-29
Community risk review · blocking-market signal
Google Data Center — Franklin Township, Indianapolis's score is backed by the record of participants driving it.
RealClear computes a Community Impact Score (0–100) for every named participant in this jurisdiction's entitlement record. Blocking markets typically carry elected critical-stance CIS leaders at the top of the record — visible months before any filing would land on their hearing docket. Open the cross-referenced case files below for the full per-actor weight breakdown.
Google assembled 467 acres of Indiana farmland through a shell company called Deep Meadow Ventures. The community found out. Protect Franklin Township collected 2,550 petition signatures, the Civic League organized hearings, and billboards went up across Indianapolis. Seventeen of twenty-five city councilors turned against the project. Google withdrew minutes before the vote.
Google's $1B project went from filing to withdrawal in 6 months. The MDC approved 8-1, but the City-County Council was 17-25 against — including all 6 Republicans.
Protect Franklin Township, led by Andrew Filler, ran a textbook opposition campaign: petitions, formal remonstrances, packed hearings, and coordinated council lobbying.
Five Indiana counties have enacted data center moratoriums since 2025 (Marshall, White, Putnam, Fulton, Starke). The Citizens Action Coalition is calling for a statewide moratorium.
HB 1333, which would have allowed data centers on agricultural land without local zoning approval, died in committee. The legislature will not override local opposition.
Dimension Breakdown
Four dimensions that determine entitlement feasibility.
Regulatory Risk
30 pts
Full rezoning required from D-A/C-4/SU-43 to C-S. Flood overlay zones added independent regulatory complexity. Three sequential approvals needed: MDC hearing examiner, MDC commission vote, and City-County Council.
Score: 3/30. Full rezoning required from dwelling-agricultural to commercial-special. Three sequential approval bodies. The council call-down process gave a single district councilor the power to force a full vote — and he used it.
Infrastructure Readiness
25 pts
AES Indiana serves the area with 3.9 GW across three plants. A single hyperscaler could ramp up by 1 GW. AES stated it has electricity for currently proposed DCs but may need gas turbines by 2030.
Score: 10/25. AES Indiana has 3.9 GW capacity, but a single hyperscaler could consume 1 GW — over 25% of total. AES stated it may need to build a new power plant. The utility is now building a 1,200 MW substation in Morgan County — 30 minutes away.
Opposition Density
25 pts
Organized multi-group coalition: Protect Franklin Township (Andrew Filler) and Franklin Township Civic League. Change.org petition gathered 2,550+ signatures. 75+ remonstrators at MDC and hundreds at City-County Council. 17 of 25 Council members publicly opposed.
Score: 0/25. This is the most severe opposition outcome possible: organized multi-group coalition forced a strategic withdrawal before the vote. 2,550+ petition signatures. 75+ remonstrators at MDC. Billboards purchased across Indianapolis.
Approval Timeline
20 pts
Petition filed March 2025, withdrawn September 2025 — 6 months with no approval achieved. Full pathway would have taken 9-12+ months even without opposition delays.
Score: 0/20. Six months from filing to withdrawal with no approval achieved. The full regulatory pathway would have required 9-12 months minimum even without opposition.
Key Findings
What the record shows.
Deep Meadow Ventures LLC (Google) filed to rezone 467.66 acres from D-A/C-4/SU-43 to C-S in Franklin Township.
MDC Hearing Examiner Agenda, April 10, 202517 of 25 City-County Council members — including all 6 Republicans — publicly opposed the project.
Mirror Indy: Google data center draws oppositionGoogle withdrew the petition on September 22, 2025, minutes before the Council vote.
WTHR: Google Pulls Franklin Township Data Center PlanFive Indiana counties (Marshall, White, Putnam, Fulton, Starke) enacted data center moratoriums between February 2025 and March 2026.
IBJ: 3 counties put moratoriums on data center projectsKey Officials
The decision-makers on record.
Michael-Paul Hart
City-County Councilor, District 20
Documented Record
Used council call-down process to force petition to full council vote after MDC approved 8-1.
Documented position based on public record.
Indianapolis City-County Council
Legislative body
Documented Record
17 of 25 members publicly opposed the project.
Documented position based on public record.
Opposition Profile
Who is organizing.
Protect Franklin Township — organized by Andrew Filler, led sustained campaign
Franklin Township Civic League — participated in hearings and opposition materials
Change.org petition gathered 2,550+ signatures
Citizens Action Coalition called for statewide moratorium
Billboards purchased across Indianapolis opposing the project
Timeline
How it unfolded.
June 12, 2025
MDC hearing examiner heard the petition, continued to June 26.
August 20, 2025
MDC voted 8-1 to approve rezoning and forward to Council.
September 22, 2025
Google withdrew the petition minutes before Council vote.
Known Risks
What could change.
Active risk factors documented in public record.
Full rezoning required with flood overlay complexity
Organized multi-group coalition with 2,550+ petition signatures
17 of 25 Council members publicly opposed
Five Indiana county moratoriums show statewide hostility
Recommendation
CRITICAL RISK — Score 13/100
Critical Risk. Google withdrew after supermajority Council opposition. Indiana moratorium wave makes the state increasingly hostile for agricultural-land data center siting.
Sources
Claims cited.
MDC Hearing Examiner Agenda, April 10, 2025
primaryMarion County Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 735
secondaryWTHR: Google Pulls Franklin Township Data Center Plan
secondaryMirror Indy: Google data center draws opposition from Indianapolis residents and 17 councilors
primaryChange.org petition: Halt the Proposed Data Center Land Development in Franklin Township
Get your site briefed before the surprises start.
Zoning posture, approval pathway, community risk, and comparable outcomes. After access approval and property submission, the cited site-memo queue targets 24 hours.
After access approval and property submission, the site-memo queue targets 24 hours.
